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TRAVELS 


IN 


ASSYRIA,    MEDIA,   AND    PERSIA, 


INCLUDING 


A  JOURNEY  FROM  BAGDAD  BY  MOUNT  ZAGROS, 


HAMADAN,  THE  ANCIENT  ECBATANA, 
RESEARCHES  IN 

ISPAHAN  AND  THE  RUINS  OF  PERSEPOLIS, 

AND    JOURNEY    FROM    THENCE 

BY   SHIRAZ  AND    SHAPOOR  TO  THE  SEA-SHORE ;   DESCRIPTION    OF   BUSSORAK 
BUSH  IRE,  BAHREIN,   ORMUZ,  AND  MUSCAT;    NARRATIVE  OF  AN  EXPEDI- 
TION AGAINST  THE  PIRATES  OF  THE   PERSIAN  GULF,  WITH    ILLUS- 
TRATIONS   OF  THE   VOYAGE  OF   NEARCHUS,  AND    PASSAGE 
BY  THE  ARABIAN  SEA  TO  BOMBAY. 


^, 


BY  J^  S.' BUCKINGHAM, 


AUTHiiR    OF    TRAVELS    IN    PALESTINE    AND   THE    COUNTRIES    EAST    OF    THE    JORDAN;    TRAVELS 
AMONG    THE    ARAB    TRIBES;    AND    TRAVELS    IN    MESOPOTAMIA;    MEMBER    OF    THE 
LITERARY    SOCIETIES    OF    BOMBAY    AND   MADRAS,    AND    OF   THE 
ASIATIC   SOCIETY    OF    BENGAL. 


SECOND  EDITION. 
IN   TWO   VOLUxMES. 


VOL.  II. 


LONDON : 

HENRY  COLBURN  AND  RICHARD  BENTLEY 

NEW  BURLINGTON  STREET. 

1830. 


I 


LONDON: 

PRINTED    BY    SAMUEL    BENTLEY, 

Dorset  Street,  Fleet  Street, 


l/,\\' 


l(/f 


?^ 


CONTENTS 

OF  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Stay  at  Shiraz,  and  Visit  to  the  principal  Places  of 
that  City 1 

CHAP.  II. 
From  Shiraz,  by  Kotel  Dokhter,  to  Kauzeroon         .       46 

CHAP.  III. 

Visit  to  the  Ruins  of  Shapoor,  and  Journey  from 
thence  to  Bushire         ......       78 

CHAP.  IV. 

Stay  at   Bushire — its  Town,  Port,  Commerce,   and 

Inhabitants 102 

CHAP.  V. 

Bussorah — the  Chief  Port  of  the  Persian  Gulf. — Its 
Population,  Commerce,  and  Resources  .         .126 

CHAP.  VI. 

History  of  the  Joassamee  Pirates,  and  their  Attacks 
on  British  Ships 208 


IV  CONTENTS. 


Page 


CHAP.  VII. 

Voyage  from  Bushire  down  the  Persian  Gulf — Ruins 
ofOrmuz .     251 

CHAP.  VIII. 

Visit   to  Ras-el-Khyma — Negotiation  with   the  Pi- 
rates— Bombardment  of  the  Town         .         .         .     338 

CHAP.  IX. 

Harbour  and  Town  of  Muscat,   and  Voyage  from 
thence  to  Bombay        ......     392 


CHAPTER  I. 


CITY  OF  SHIRAZ,  AS  SEEN  FROM  WITHOUT  THE  WALLS. 


1 

n 


n 


CHAPTER  I. 

STAY    AT    SHIRAZ,    AND    VISIT    TO    THE    PRIN- 
CIPAL   PLACES    OF    THAT    CITY. 

Oct.  £5th. — At  an  early  hour  this  morn- 
ing, I  received  a  visit  at  the  caravansera  from 
the  Prince  Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  who  invited  us 
to  take  up  our  quarters  at  his  house,  in  one 
of  the  best  parts  of  Shiraz.  This  being  acr 
cepted,  I  repaired  with  him  to  the  Hamam- 
e- Vakeel,  which  was  the  finest  bath  I  had  yet 
seen  in  Persia.  It  resembled  generally  that 
at  Kermanshah,  but  was  much  larger,  and 
more  ornamented.  During  our  conversation 
here,  I  heard  a  Mohammedan  describing  to 
his  friend,  that  Friday  was  set  aside  as  a  day  of 
public  prayer  by  Mohammed,  because  Christ, 
the  Roah  UUah,  or  Soul  of  God,  was  crucified 
on  that  day ;  and  this,  it  appears,  is  the  tradi- 

VOL.    II.  B 


!a  ,  SHIRAZ. 

tion  received  by  many.  The  same  individual 
also  said  that  the  Persians  stained  their  beards, 
as  a  peculiar  mark  of  their  being  Sheeahs  ; 
for  though  Imam  Ali  did  not  stain  his,  yet 
one  of  his  immediate  descendants  did, — and 
this,  he  thought,  was  a  sufficient  precedent 
for  the  use  of  this  as  a  distinguishing  mark 
from  the  Soonnees,  who  do  not  generally  fol- 
low this  practice. 

After  the  bath,  we  were  conducted  to  the 
house  of  Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  by  a  train  of  ser- 
vants who  had  been  sent  to  attend  us  ;  and 
on  our  arrival  there  a  separate  portion  of  his 
residence  was  appropriated  to  our  own  use, 
with  accommodation   for  our  horses,  and  a 
small  private  garden  for  retirement  and  re- 
pose.    We  all  breakfasted  together  after  the 
manner  of  the  country,  and  passed  the  whole 
^^f  the  day  in  agreeable  conversation  on  sub- 
jects connected  with  Persia.     In  the  evening 
we  were  visited  by  three  of  Jaffier's  particu- 
lar friends,  who,  he  said,  were  among  the  few 
of  the  old  and  respectable  members  of  the 
community  that  remained  in  Shiraz,  where, 
as   throughout  all  Persia,  the  general  cor- 
ruption of  the  government  has   led  to  the 
elevation  of  the  lowest  characters  to  the  high- 


SHIRAZ.  3 

est  offices  of  the  state,  and  the  consequent 
oppression  and  persecution  of  the  heads  of 
all  the  older  and  more  respectable  families. 

After  supper,  chess  followed,  at  which  the 
greater  number  of  the  party  played  skilfully ; 
and  during  the  game,  the  conversation  turned 
on  a  late  affair  which  had  excited  consider- 
able attention  at  Shiraz.     A  captain  in  the 
English  navy,    and   a  Civilian  of  the  East 
India  Company's  service,  who  had  come  up 
from    Bushire    on    a    visit    to   Shiraz,    were 
lodged  in  one  of  the  villas  and  gardens  of 
the  Governor  during  their  stay  here  ;  when, 
one  evening,  some  young  persons  of  distinc- 
tion belonging  to  the  Persian  court,  having 
drunk  deeply,  went  there  at  a  late  hour  to 
ask  for  more  wine.     The  request  was  refused, 
and  very  warm  language  passed  on  both  sides. 
On  the  following  morning,  however,  the  Per- 
sians, sensible  of  their  fauLt,  went  in  a  body 
to  ask  pardon  of  the  English  gentlemen.     A 
reconciliation  was  soon  brought  about ;  and 
the  principal  offender  advanced  to  embrace 
the  young  civilian,  and  kiss  his  forehead,  after 
the  Persian  fashion.     The  Englishman  being 
ignorant,  however,  of  this  custom  of  the  coun- 
try, took  this  familiarity  for  an  intended  vio- 

B  2 


SHIRAZ. 


^ 


lation  of  his  person,  and  became  more  angry 
than  before.  It  was  therefore  represented  to 
the  Prince,  who  was  then  the  Governor  of 
Shiraz,  that  these  young  Persian  courtiers  had 
a  second  time  come  in  a  body  to  insult  the 
EngHsh  guests.  The  Prince,  without  farther 
enquiry,  and  upon  this  mere  representation, 
gave  up  the  offenders,  though  all  of  them 
were  young  men  high  in  his  service,  to  be 
punished  with  death,  or  such  other  tortures 
as  the  English  gentlemen  might  at  their  dis- 
cretion command.  They  were  even  brought 
into  the  public  place  of  execution,  in  pur- 
suance of  this  sentence, — were  there  stripped, 
tied  up,  and  rods  prepared  for  flogging  them; 
when,  at  the  moment  of  the  punishment  being 
about  to  commence,  they  were  released  by 
order  of  the  naval  captain  and  his  young 
friend,  who  expressed  themselves  perfectly 
satisfied  with  this  measure  of  justice,  without 
proceeding  further.  The  Persians,  however, 
knowing  that  the  whole  affair  originated  in  a 
misconception,  from  ignorance  of  their  man- 
ners, were  very  indignant  at  the  punishment 
having  proceeded  so  far. 

Oct.  26th. — Being  attended  by  a  servant 
of  Jaffier  Ali  as  a  guide,  we  went  out  to-day 


THE    MOSQUES.  5 

to  see  some  of  the  principal  places  in  the 
town,  and  paid  our  first  visit  to  the  Musj  id- 
No,  an  old  mosque,  now  so  much  ruined,  as 
to  be  scarcely  more  than  a  spacious  square- 
court,  with  fountains,  benches  for  praying  on, 
&c.  We  next  went  to  the  Musj  id  Jumah,  the 
most  ancient  perfect  mosque  in  the  city,  being 
upwards  of  eight  hundred  years  old.^  There 
was,  however,  a  square  building  in  the  court 
before  it,  fast  going  to  ruins :  the  columns 
had  diamond-cut  pedestals  in  the  Indian  fash- 
ion, fluted  shafts,  and  Arabic  capitals  ;  the 
whole  of  these  were  of  marble,  and  of  better 
proportions  than  usual,  approaching  nearly 
to  the  Doric  in  the  relation  between  the  dia- 
meter and  height.  A  pedestal  of  an  inverted 
lotus  flower,  fully  opened,  was  shown  us  here, 
standing  by  itself,  and  exactly  like  the  pedes- 
tals of  the  columns  at  Persepolis,  from  which 
it  was  no  doubt  brought;  as  the  ruins  of  that 
city  or  temple  are  said  to  have  been  employed 
in  the  structure  of  Shiraz,  which  was  founded 
in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  the  Hejira  under 

*  The  memory  of  Atta  Beg  Saad  is  to  this  day  held  in  great 
respect  at  Shiraz.  He  surrounded  that  city  by  a  wall,  and 
built  the  Musj  id  Jumah,  or  chief  mosque,  which  still  remains.— 
Hist,  of  Persia y  vol.  i.  p.  388. 


6  SHIRA2:. 

the  Ommiades.  In  the  mosque  itself  is  a  fine 
old  niche  for  prayer,  with  a  rich  pointed  arch 
over  it,  and  the  words  '  Bismillah-el-Rakh- 
man-el-Rakheem,'  &c.  written  around  it  in 
Cufic  characters,  in  high  relief  The  deco- 
rations of  this  arch  are  exuberant,  but  they 
are  all  well-disposed :  the  ground-work  is 
formed  of  clusters  of  grapes  and  vine  leaves, 
—a  very  singular  combination  for  a  Moham- 
medan sanctuary  ;  and  over  the  concave  part 
of  the  roof  is  a  large  stem  disposed  into  three 
branches,  with  a  full-blown  lily  at  the  end 
of  the  central  one,  and  a  half  blown  one  at 
the  end  of  the  other  two.  A  wooden  flight  of 
steps  leads  to  a  pulpit  near,  which  is  equally 
old  ;  and  over  it,  among  the  full-carved  work 
of  the  back  part,  is  the  confession  of  faith, 
*  La  lUah  ul  UUah,  oua  Mohammed  el  Roo- 
sool  UUah.'  The  conquest  of  Persia  by  Ta- 
merlane was  celebrated  in  this  mosque ;  and 
though  at  present  in  a  very  ruined  and  im- 
perfect state,  it  was  long  the  first  in  Shiraz. 
The  whole  wears  an  appearance  of  much 
greater  antiquity  than  the  Mohammedan  era. 
From  hence  we  went  to  the  Musjid  Wa- 
keel,  which  is  the  most  modern,  and  reckon- 
ed to  be  the  best  mosque  in  Shiraz.     It  was 


THE    MOSQUES.  7 

begun  by  Kerim  Khan,  but  was  never  com- 
pletely finished,  and  it  still  remains  in  an 
incomplete  state.  Its  entrance  faces  a  broad 
way,  which  connects  it  with  the  great  square, 
leading  to  the  Ark,  or  Citadel,  and  the 
Prince's  residence  ;  so  that  its  situation  is 
imposing.  Within  the  gate  of  entrance  is  a 
large  square  court,  with  piazzas  around  it, 
and  a  long  reservoir  of  water  in  the  centre. 
It  was  now  filled  with  soldiers  preparing  to 
appear  before  the  Prince,  and  with  men  in 
every  stage  of  decrepitude,  halt,  blind,  and 
lame,  preparing  to  ask  alms.  The  mosque 
within  is  one  large  hall,  unusually  low,  and 
its  roof  formed  of  a  succession  of  vaulted 
coves.  The  points  of  these  are  supported  by 
marble  columns,  of  which  there  are  four  rows 
of  twelve  each.  These  are  without  pedestals, 
and  the  shaft  and  capital  of  each  is  one  piece 
of  white  marble.  The  shafts  are  spirally 
fluted,  though  beginning  and  ending  in  a 
straight  line :  the  capital  swells  upward  like 
an  inverted  bell ;  and  between  two  astragals, 
at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  capital,  are  ar- 
ranged perpendicular  leaves,  like  those  of  a 
spreading  palm,  sculptured  in  relief.  There 
is   here  a   flight  of  steps  going  up  to  the 


SHITJAZ. 


oratory  of  the  priests ;  the  whole  flight 
being  formed  of  one  entire  block  of  Tabreez 
marble,  finely  wrought  and  beautifully  po- 
lished. Some  parts  of  the  roof  or  ceiling, 
and  the  wall  about  the  niche  of  prayer,  have 
been  tiled,  but  the  rest  remains  bare ;  and 
while  the  sculptured  marble  slabs  of  the  sur- 
basement  of  the  outer  court  appear  as  fresh 
as  if  finished  yesterday,  the  coloured  tiling 
of  the  arches  above  is  already  falling  to  de- 
cay, and  no  repairs  are  even  spoken  of  as  in- 
tended. Though  this  is  considered  to  be 
the  most  beautiful  mosque  at  Shiraz,  it  is 
inot  to  be  compared  with  either  of  the  prin- 
cipal ones  at  Ispahan. 

After  quitting  this,  we  went  to  the  Shah 
'Gheragh,  the  tomb  of  one  of  the  sons  of 
Imam  Moosa, — Shah  being  a  name  given  to 
Fakeers  and  Dervishes,  or  holy  persons  dis- 
tinguished for  their  piety  or  their  wisdom,  as 
well  as  to  kings.  In  the  centre  of  this  place 
is  a  large  and  lofty  edifice  covered  by  a  dome, 
a  fine  tomb  of  wrought  silver  in  open  work, 
like  the  tomb  in  Henry  the  Seventh's  Chapel 
at  Westminster  Abbey,  with  folding-doors; 
the  bars  of  silver  used  in  this  grating  work 
being  an  inch  in  circumference.    Around  the 


THE    BAZAARS.  9 

tomb  are  tablets  covered  with  fine  Arabic 
writing ;  and  on  the  tomb  itself  are  offerings 
of  silver  vessels,  with  a  highly  embellished 
copy  of  the  Koran.  We  each  kissed  the 
corners  of  this  with  great  devotion ;  the 
omission  of  which  mark  of  respect  would 
have  been  dangerous.  The  carpets  around 
this  tomb  were  painted;  and  rich  gilding 
was  used  on  the  ceiling  of  the  roofs  and  the 
walls.  This  place  received  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  visitors,  each  of  whom  generally 
left  a  small  sum  with  the  MooUah  at  the 
door,  who  was  employed,  when  we  passed 
him^  in  writing  Arabic  sentences  on  hand- 
kerchiefs of  white  cotton  for  sale.  As  I  wore 
the  Arab  dress,  I  was  saluted  as  a  Hadjee,  or 
Pilgrim,  and  paid  much  greater  respect  than 
I  expected,  considering  the  hatred  which  the 
Persians  generally  bear  to  the  sect  of  the 
Soonnees  and  all  its  adherents. 

The  Bazaar-el- Wakeel  was  the  part  of 
Shiraz  that  we  next  visited.  This  is  long, 
large,  and  lofty,  in  the  style  of  the  best 
bazaars  at  Ispahan,  and  is  quite  equal  to  any 
of  them.  It  was  now  filled  with  shops,  all 
excellently  furnished.  Some  of  the  smaller 
bazaars  have  a  raised  causeway  or  pavement 


10  SHIRAZ. 

of  flag-stones  on  each  side,  and  in  the  centre 
a  deep  space  for  camels  or  beasts  of  burthen. 
The  dealers  expose  their  wares  on  high 
benches,  where  also  sit  the  Serafs,  or  money- 
changers, with  their  strong  chests  of  silver 
and  copper  coins  for  changing  on  commission. 

The  Bazaar-No,  or  New  Bazaar,  is  not 
yet  completed.  It  is  inferior  only  to  the 
Bazaar-el- Wakeel,  and  is  distinguished  by 
the  most  fantastic  paintings  of  battles,  &c. 
All  the  monsters  of  the  fabulous  ages  are 
here  realized,  and  draw  crowds  of  gazers. 
Nadir  Shah,  Shah  Abbas,  and  Futteh  Ali 
Shah,  have  their  portraits  among  them — 
either  engaged  in  war,  or  beholding  barba- 
rous executions.  The  loves  of  Shirine  and 
Ferhad  are  depicted  in  other  compartments, 
and  the  variety  is  without  end.  This  is  not 
ye't  complete. 

The  Kaisereah-Koneh-Khan,  which  was 
once  one  of  the  largest  and  oldest  caravan- 
seras  in  Shiraz,  is  now  entirely  in  ruins,  ex- 
hibiting only  a  large  octagonal  frame-work 
to  show  what  the  edifice  once  was,  the  inner 
space  being  now  built  upon  by  smaller  houses. 
When  perfect,  however,  it  must  have  been  a 
very  fine  edifice. 


THE    GARDENS.  11 

In  passing  homeward,  we  went  by  the  Ark, 
or  Citadel, — a  large  square  enclosure  of  high 
walls,  with  round  towers  at  each  end,  and 
surrounded  by  a  ditch.  Near  this  is  the 
great  square,  in  which  the  public  executions 
take  place  ;  and  at  the  arched  entrance,  op- 
posite to  the  great  mosque  of  the  Wakeel, 
we  were  shown  the  wooden  pins  at  which 
men  are  suspended  by  the  heels  when  they, 
are  beheaded,  and  then  cut  down  in  halves 
like  a  sheep  by  the  knife  of  the  butcher. 
Fresh  blood  was  here  shown  us  upon  the 
wall ;  and  we  were  taken  into  a  prison,  where 
several  men  lay  in  chains  for  execution  on 
the  following  morning. 

Oct.  ^7th. — We  extended  our  excursion 
to  places  without  the  walls  of  the  town  to- 
day, and,  still  having  one  of  the  Khan's  ser- 
vants for  a  guide,  we  went  out  of  the  nor- 
thern gate  of  the  town  by  a  wide  road,  and, 
after  about  a  mile's  ride,  came  to  the  garden 
and  royal  seat  called  Takht-e-Kudjur,  or 
throne  of  the  Kudjur.  On  an  eminence  of 
rock,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  is  built  a 
neat  pleasure-house,  which  commands  a  fine 
view  of  the  plain,  and  the  town  of  Shiraz 
bearing   directly  south  of  it.     The  interior 


IQ  SHIllAZ. 

decorations  of  the  chief  apartments  are  rich 
and  varied,  and  consist  of  painting  and  gild- 
ing in  the  Persian  style.     There  are  smaller 
apartments  adjoining ;  an  open  paved  court 
with    a   fountain  behind ;  and  a  fine  large 
garden  in  front,  thickly  covered  with  trees, 
among  which  the  cypress  is  predominant.    In 
the  centre  of  this  was  a  place  called  Koola 
Frangi,  or  Frank's  hat,  from  a  resemblance 
to  it  in  shape.     It  stood  in  the  middle  of  a 
large  piece  of  water,  and  served  as  the  ele- 
vated stage  of  a  fountain.     This  place  was 
built  by  Aga  Mohammed  Khan,  the  eunuch 
King,  and  first  of  the  Kudjurs  who  ascended 
the  throne — from  whence  it  derives  its  name.^ 
From  hence,  about  half  a  mile  eastward, 
we  came  to  a  new  garden  and  palace,  now 
building  by  the  Shah  Zade,  and  called  Bagh- 
No.     In  the  way,  we  saw  on  our  left,  high 
on  the  mountain  brow,  the  tomb  of  Sheikh 
Baba  Bund  Baz,  who  was  a  Persian  poet ; 
and  a  little  below  it  another,  with  gardens, 

*  The  Takht-e-Kudjur,  at  Shiraz,  was  built  by  the  present 
family  of  Persia  on  the  site  of  one  called  Takht  Karrajah,  built 
by  the  fifth  AUa-Beg,  the  founder  also  of  a  college  there. — 
Hist,  of  Persia,  \.\.  p.  386. 

The  Turkish  tribe  of  Kudjur  were  brought  from  Syria  to 
Persia  by  Timoor. — Ibid,  v.  ii.  p.  125. 


THE    GAlli)ENS.  1^ 

of  Sheikh  Ali  Baba,  also  a  poet:  but  being 
unbelievers,  or  philosophers,  their  works  are 
disregarded  and  scarce.  The  Bagh-No,  or 
new  garden,  promises  to  be  very  fine  when 
completed.  After  passing  an  outer  building 
in  the  centre  of  its  south-west  front,  in  which 
are  upper  and  lower  rooms  for  servants  or 
visitors,  it  opens  on  an  extensive  and  beauti- 
ful garden,  now  filled  with  fruit-trees  and 
flowers  in  full  bloom.  In  the  centre  of  this, 
a  double  walk,  with  a  canal  between  each,  of 
not  less  than  one  thousand  feet  long,  leads 
up  to  the  principal  edifice.  As  the  ground 
rises  here  on  a  gentle  ascent,  there  are  about 
twenty  high  steps,  with  little  cascades  pass- 
ing from  one  to  the  other,  the  marble  being 
cut  like  the  scales  of  fish,  to  improve  the 
effect  of  the  waterfall ;  and  small  pillars  are 
placed  through  all  the  length  of  the  canal, 
with  holes  in  them  for  water-spouts  to  issue 
from.  At  the  end  of  this  walk  is  a  fine  piece 
of  water,  of  an  octagonal  form,  occupying 
nearly  the  whole  space  in  front  of  the  palace, 
and  seated  on  an  elevated  pavement,  in  the 
centre  of  which  it  stands.  As  this  was  now 
full  to  the  brim,  it  formed  a  beautiful  sheet 
of  water,  and  reflected  the  whole  of  the  build- 


14  SHIRAZ. 

ing,  as  in  the  clearest  mirror.  The  palace 
is  neat,  without  being  so  gorgeously  magnifi- 
cent as  those  at  Ispahan  ;  and  its  interior 
decorations  are  nearly  in  the  same  style, 
though  of  inferior  execution.  The  portraits 
of  Futteh  Ali  Shah  and  his  several  sons 
hold  a  distinguished  place  here.  Many  of 
the  great  men  of  the  court  have  their  por- 
traits also  preserved  in  this  place.  In  one 
compartment  of  a  large  painting,  the  present 
King  of  Persia  is  represented  in  a  battle  with 
the  Russians,  over  whom  he  is  of  course  vic- 
torious. The  Russian  troops  are  dressed  in 
red,  in  the  European  fashion,  and  marshalled 
in  close  ranks ;  while  the  Persians  are  in  the 
utmost  disorder,  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
custom  of  each  nation.  In  the  chief  com- 
partment of  the  centre,  the  King  is  seated 
on  a  rich  throne,  surrounded  by  his  great 
men,  and  is  receiving  a  present  from  an 
European  ambassador,  followed  by  his  suite. 
These  are  known  chiefly  by  their  blue  eyes 
and  yellow  hair;  but  their  dresses  are  so 
oddly  portrayed,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  deter- 
mine for  the  people  of  what  Frank  nation 
they  were  intended.  There  are  two  columns 
supporting  the  open  part  of  this  principal 


THE    GARDENS.  15 

hall,  of  the  same  style  as  those  in  the  palaces 
at  Ispahan,  and,  like  them,  cased  with  mir- 
rors in  a  fancy  frame-work ;  but  the  co- 
lumns are  in  much  better  proportions,  being 
of  greater  diameter  compared  to  their  height, 
though  still  more  slender  than  the  Corin- 
thian or  the  Composite.  The  apartments 
for  the  females  in  this  palace  are  above,  and 
are  much  the  same  as  we  had  seen  in  other 
Persian  edifices  of  state.  The  Bagh-No  is 
close  to  the  left  of  the  road  leading  to  Is- 
pahan, and  about  half  a  mile  to  the  north- 
east of  the  town. 

Almost  opposite  to  this,  on  the  north  of  the 
road,  and  less  than  a  furlong  distant,  is  ano- 
ther large  garden,  formerly  called  the  Bagh- 
e- Vakeel,  from  its  having  been  built  by  Kur- 
reem  Khan,  but  now  called  Bagh  Jehan 
Newah.  To  this  we  next  directed  our  steps, 
leaving  on  our  left,  at  some  distance,  the 
Teng-e- Allah- Ackbar.  This  garden  is  smaller 
than  the  former,  but  also  has  a  house  over 
the  front  gate,  with  some  neat  and  richly 
decorated  apartments,  and  its  chief  building 
within.  This  last,  however,  is  in  the  centre 
of  the  garden,  with  walks  leading  from  it  in 
several  directions.     It  is  of  an  octagonal  form, 


16  "  SHIRAZ. 

and  its  rooms  are  very  small,  as  if  intended 
for  an  arbour,  or  place  of  temporary  retire- 
ment only.  In  its  original  state,  it  was  richly 
adorned,  and  the  surbasement  of  the  inte- 
rior is  of  Tabreez  marble,  finely  polished ; 
but  it  is  suffered  to  fall  into  decay,  being 
entirely  neglected, — so  much  is  it  the  fashion 
here  to  abandon  old  establishments  to  their 
ruin,  and  then  to  lavish  great  expense  in 
rearing  new  ones.  The  cypresses  of  Shiraz^ 
are  among  the  largest  I  remember  to  have 
seen  any  where,  except  at  Smyrna,  and  in 
the  valley  between  Mardin  and  Diarbekr,  in 
both  of  which  places  they  are  taller  and  fuller. 
These  are,  however,  very  beautiful,  and  from 
their  number  and  regularity  give  great  noble- 
ness of  appearance  to  the  place.  It  was  this 
garden  which  was  given  to  the  naval  captain 
and  the  young  Indian  civilian  by  the  Shah 
Zade,  and  it  was  here  that  the  quarrel  and 
misunderstanding  already  described  arose. 

The  tomb  of  Hafiz  is  within  a  few  yards  of 
this,  to  the  south,  and  nearer  the  town ;  but 
we  left  this  for  our  route  of  return. 

From  the  Bagh-e- Vakeel  we  went  to  the 
Chehel-ten,  a  garden  in  which  forty  Der- 
vishes are  buried ;    and  their  plain  graves, 


TOMB    OF    KHALOO    SHEIKH    SAADI.  17 

without  a  stone  or  an  inscription,  are  shown 
there,  arranged  along  the  south-eastern  wall, 
in  a  double  row  of  twenty  each.  In  another 
corner  is  a  very  old  tomb  of  Khaloo  Sheikh 
Saadi,  or  the  brother  of  the  poet  Saadi's  mo- 
ther, who  must  have  been  buried  nearly  six 
hundred  years ;  and  it  was  for  his  sake,  he 
being  a  Dervish,  that  this  place  is  said  to 
have  been  built.  The  small  tomb  erected 
over  him  is  nearly  in  the  form  and  size  of  an 
ordinary  coffin,  and  is  very  old :  the  inscrip- 
tions are  in  Arabic ;  but  from  their  age, 
and  the  confused  manner  in  which  they  are 
written,  the  words  being  run  into  and  inter- 
laced with  each  other,  they  are  very  difficult 
to  be  read.  There  are  apartments  here  for 
Dervishes,  of  whom  we  found  several  en- 
joying their  shelter  :  they  plucked  us  flowers 
from  around  the  tomb  of  the  saint,  and  fur- 
nished us  with  a  nargeel,  while  a  metaphy- 
sical conversation  was  supported  with  great 
warmth  between  them  and  my  Dervish, 
Ismael,  whose  superior  learning  and  elo- 
quence they  all  acknowledged. 

Close  by  this,  a  little  to  the  north-east,  is 
a  similar  establishment,  called  the  Haft-ten, 
or  eight  bodies,  to  which  we  next  went.     The 

VOL.   II.  c 


18  SHIRAZ. 

garden  of  this  is  finer  than  the  former,  and 
has  fountains  of  water  and  large  cypresses. 
On  the  left,  and  facing  a  second  garden,  is 
a  small  but  fine  edifice,  of  ancient  date, 
apart  from  the  dwellings  of  the  Dervishes, 
and  once  carefully  adorned,  but  now  falling 
to  decay.  In  the  open  front  of  the  central 
apartment,  are  two  pillars,  of  the  Arabic  kind, 
i.  e.  with  Arabic  capitals ;  the  shafts  plain, 
and  without  pedestals,  each  being  in  one 
piece  of  white  marble.  Like  the  columns 
we  had  seen  in  the  court  of  the  old  mosque 
of  Jumah,  these  were  in  as  fair  proportions 
as  the  Doric,  the  order  to  which  they  ap- 
proached nearest,  in  that  respect.  It  is  here 
that  the  Patriarchs  are  introduced, — Abra- 
ham offering  up  his  son  Isaac,  and  Moses 
feeding  Jethro's  flock.  In  one  compartment, 
an  old  white-bearded  man  is  represented, 
below  a  window,  addressing  a  fair  and  gaily- 
dressed  lady  in  a  balcony  above.  This  is 
said  to  be  a  certain  Sheikh  Semaan,  of  whom 
the  story  says,  that  he  loved  an  Armenian 
lady,  who  forced  him  to  change  his  religion, 
drink  wine,  eat  pork,  and  drive  swine  ;  and 
then  laughed  at  him  for  his  pains.  In  oppo- 
site compartments,  at  each  end  of  the  room, 


GRAVES    OF    THE    DERVISHES.  19 

the  poets  Saadi  and  Hafiz  are  represented 
in  fulUength  figures,  said  to  be  portraits. 
Both  of  them  wear  the  Dervish's  cap,  sur- 
rounded by  a  green  turban,  and  are  white 
bearded.  These  portraits  are  better  exe- 
cuted, on  the  whole,  than  any  of  the  other 
pictures. 

In  front  of  this  open  apartment  is  a  neat 
little  garden,  with  cypresses  and  a  large 
spreading  fir-tree.  In  this,  the  eight  bodies 
of  the  Dervishes,  first  buried  here,  have  their 
graves  in  a  line  together :  their  tombs  are 
formed  of  plain  cases  of  smooth  marble 
without  inscription  or  date.  Many  other 
Dervishes  are  buried  both  here  and  at  the 
Chehel-ten  ;  but  it  is  said  to  be  only  those 
who  are  distinguished  from  their  fellows  by 
superior  piety,  or  superior  understanding, 
who  are  granted  that  honour. 

Above  these  abodes  of  Dervishes,  in  the 
mountains  on  the  left  of  Teng-e-AUah-Ack- 
bar,  and  north-east  of  this,  are  other  smaller 
dwellings  of  the  same  people ;  and  on  the 
summit  of  the  mountain  is  the  tomb  of  Baba 
Kooe,  an  old  Dervish  and  philosopher,  whose 
verses  and  sayings  in  Persian  were  after  his 
death   collected,  and  are  still  extant  under 

c  2 


20  SIlIllAZ. 

his  name.  At  the  small  building  on  the 
right  of  the  rocky  pass  of  Teng-e-AUah- 
Ackbar  is  kept  a  copy  of  the  Koran,  said  to 
be  the  largest  in  being,  and  written  by  Imam 
Zain-el-Abadin,  the  son  of  Imam  Ali ;  but 
as  the  person  who  had  the  custody  of  this 
large  book  lived  in  town,  and  we  could  not 
see  it  without  much  difficulty,  we  did  not  go 
to  the  place  where  it  is  kept. 

From  hence  we  went  south-easterly,  to- 
wards the  tomb  of  Saadi,  which  is  distant 
from  this  nearly  a  mile.  In  our  road,  when 
about  half-way,  we  turned  up  on  the  left, 
towards  the  mountain,  along  whose  foot  our 
path  lay,  to  see  a  deep  gutter  and  a  small 
arched  passage,  through  which  a  child  might 
barely  walk,  cut  through  a  neck  of  rock,  and 
called  by  the  natives  Gaowary-e-Deer,  or 
cradle  of  the  demons,  from  a  belief  that  it 
was  the  work  of  genii,  and  their  nightly  place 
of  repose. 

From  hence,  going  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  on  the  same  course,  we  came  to  a  large 
garden,  called  Dil-i-gushah,  or  '  the  heart- 
opener.'  *     It  might  have  once  been  worthy 

*  When  Nadir  Shah  encamped  at  Shiraz,  Hadjee  Hashem, 
the  governor  of  the  city  at  that  period,  gave  him  an  entertain- 
ment in  this  garden,  near  the  tomb  of  Saadi. — Hist,  of  Persia, 
vol.  ii.  p.  176. 


TOMB    OF    SAADI.  21 

of  admiration,  but  it  was  now  in  a  state  of 
great  ruin.  It  had  between  two  walks  a  cen- 
tral canal  of  water,  with  little  falls,  like  the 
Prince's  garden  before  described,  and  an  open 
building  in  the  centre,  remarkable  chiefiy  for 
a  mixture  in  its  construction  of  the  pointed 
and  the  very  flat  arch,  but  containing  nothing 
else  worthy  of  notice. 

From  hence  to  the  tomb  of  Saadi  the  road 
turned  to  the  north-east,  and  went  along  by 
the  side  of  the  highway,  leading  to  Yezd, 
Kerman,  &c.  the  distance  being  less  than  half 
a  mile.  We  found  here  a  poor  brick  build- 
ing, formed  of  three  large  recesses,  or  vaulted 
apartments,  open  on  one  side,  and  a  small 
garden,  in  bad  order,  in  front.  The  central 
recess  had  once  been  ornamented, — though 
the  one  on  the  right  of  it,  when  looking  to- 
wards the  garden,  was  quite  plain— and  the 
one  on  the  left  contained  the  tomb  of  the 
philosopher  and  poet  whose  name  it  bears. 
This  was  simply  a  case  of  marble,  of  the  size 
and  form  of  a  common  coffin,  with  little 
raised  posts  at  the  upper  corners.  The  co- 
vering of  it  was  entirely  gone,  leaving  only 
the  two  sides  and  the  two  ends,  and  the 
outer  one  of  the  former  had  a  large  hole 
wantonly  broken  through  it.     The  inscrip- 


22  SHIRAZ. 

tions  were  in  Arabic  and  Cufic,  and  the  let- 
ters of  each  in  relief,  but  in  so  old  a  style, 
and  so  much  run  into  each  other,  as  to  be 
difficult  to  read.  The  date  of  his  interment 
was  however  more  easily  made  out,  and  was 
in  the  year  of  the  Hejira  691,  or  540  years 
since:  this  being  the  year  of  Islam  1231. 
The  tomb  was  reared  over  his  grave  at  the 
time  of  the  poet's  death,  and  he  was  buried 
on  the  spot  where  he  had  himself  passed  all 
the  latter  part  of  his  life.  He  was  said  to 
be  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old ;  the 
first  thirty  of  which  were  consumed  in  study 
at  Shiraz  ;  the  next  sixty  were  employed  in 
travelling  over  India,  and  the  countries  east 
of  this,  in  the  character  of  a  Dervish,  and 
always  on  foot ;  and  the  last  thirty  he  passed 
in  retirement  in  this  valley,  hemmed  in  by 
lofty  and  bare  hills,  either  writing  his  odes, 
or  giving  lectures  to  his  disciples  in  philo- 
sophy. The  present  building  and  enclosure 
was  a  work  of  later  date  than  the  tomb  ;  but 
we  could  not  learn  by  whom  it  was  con- 
structed. The  pointed  and  flat  arches  are 
here  also  mixed  in  the  same  work,  and  the 
walls  are  covered  with  verses  and  inscriptions 
of  native  visitors.     The  place  bears  nearly 


TOMB    OF    HAFIZ.  23 

east-north-east  from  Shiraz,    and  is  distant 
from  it  about  a  mile  and  a  half. 

From  the  tomb  of  Saadi  we  went  back  by 
the  same  road  to  that  of  Hafiz,  which  is  dis- 
tant nearly  a  mile.     Here  also  is  a  square 
enclosure,  surrounded  by  a  brick  wall,  but  of 
greater  extent ;  and  the  space  is  filled  by  a 
burying-ground  on  one  side,  and  a  garden 
on  the  other,  divided  by  a  building  running 
across  the  whole  breadth,  in  the  centre  of  the 
square.     In  the  burying-ground,  into  which 
the  door  of  our  entrance  led,  were  at  least  a 
hundred  graves  and  tombs,  and  that  of  Hafiz 
was  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  at  a  distance 
from  the  rest,  though  it  stands  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  them  all.     It  is  formed  of  an  ob- 
long case  of  marble,  twelve  spans  in  length, 
by  four  in  breadth,  and  about  the  same  in 
depth,  standing  on  a  basement  of  stone  ele- 
vated about  a  foot  from  the  ground,  and  pro- 
jecting a  foot  each  way  beyond  its  lower  di- 
mensions.    The  sides  and  ends  of  this  case 
are  perfectly  plain,  and  the  marble  is  marked 
by  slightly  waving  veins  running  horizon- 
tally along  the  slabs  in  close  order,  changing 
the  general  colour  of  white  by  its  variation 
of  shades  to  a  cloudy  yellowness.     The  upper 


SHIRAZ. 


slab,  which  is  laid  flat   on   these  sides  and 
ends,  is  free  from   such  veins,  and  may  be 
called  perfectly  white.     Around  its  edges  is 
a  small  rope  moulding,  neatly  cut;  and  the 
body  of  the  interior  contains  the  Ode  of  Hafiz, 
in  the  letter  Sheen,  beautifully  executed  in 
high  relief;  the  letters  large,  and  of  the  finest 
possible  forms.     This  ode  occupies  the  whole 
face  of  the  stone,  except  just  leaving  room  for 
a  small  border  round  it ;  and  this  border  is 
formed  by  a  succession  of  certain  sentences 
and  sayings  of  the  poet,  in  separate  compart- 
ments, going  all  around  the  edge  of  the  tomb. 
The  marble  is  said  to  be  that  of  Tabreez, 
which  is  in  general  described  to  be  formed 
of  a  combination  of  light  green  colours,  with 
here  and  there  veins  of  red,  and  sometimes  of 
blue  ;  but  in  this  instance  the  upper  stone  is 
perfectly  white,  and  the  sides  and  end  ones 
only  streaked  horizontally  by  a  close  succes- 
sion of  cloudy  and  waving  lines,  thus  differ- 
ing from  any  other  of  the  Tabreez  marbles 
that  I  had  elsewhere  seen. 

Like  the  tomb  of  Saadi,  that  of  Hafiz  was 
said  to  have  been  placed  on  the  spot  which 
he  frequented  when  alive  ;  and  his  grave,  it 
is  believed,  stands  at  the  foot  of  a  cypress 


TOMB    OF    HAFIZ.       -  2l5 

planted  by  his  own  hands.  It  is  only  six 
months  since  that  this  sacred  tree  had  fallen 
down,  after  having  stood  so  many  years  ;  and 
though  it  was  sawed  off,  the  trunk  is  still  pre- 
served above  ground,  to  be  shown  to  visitors. 
Had  such  an  event  happened  in  England, 
every  fibre  of  it  would  have  been  preserved 
with  as  much  care  as  the  mulberry  of  Shak- 
speare,  but  here  it  was  generally  disregarded. 
The  first  constructor  of  the  tomb  of  Hafiz 
was  one  of  his  contemporaries.  Nadir  Shah, 
however,  on  the  occasion  of  his  being  at  Shi- 
raz,  having  visited  it,  and  opened  the  copy  of 
his  works,  always  kept  here  for  inspection, 
found  a  passage  so  applicable  to  his  own  case, 
that  he  embellished  the  whole  place,  and  re- 
stored the  tomb,  which  was  fast  falling  to  de- 
cay. The  present  structure  is,  however,  a 
still  more  recent  work,  and  is  ascribed  to  the 
munificence  of  Kurreem  Khan,  not  more  than 
forty  years  since.  The  period  at  which  Hafiz 
wrote  is  about  four  hundred  and  forty  years 
ago.^     The  original  copy  of  his  works,  written 

*  Shiraz  was  in  its  greatest  prosperity  when  visited  by  Ti- 
mour.  Hafiz,  the  poet,  was  then  there,  and  treated  with  dis- 
tinction by  the  great  conqueror. — Hist,  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  447. 

Timour's  battle  and  entry  into  Shiraz  are  described  in  the 
same  work. — Vol.  i.  p.  463. 


26  SHIKAZ. 

by  his  own  hands,  was  kept  here,  chained  to 
the  tomb,  until  about  a  century  since,  when 
AsherafF,  the  King  of  the  AfFghans,  took  Is- 
pahan, and  afterwards  Shiraz,  in  the  reign  of 
Shah  Sultan  Hussein  ;  and  the  book  of  Hafiz 
was  then  taken  by  him  to  Candahar,  where  it 
is  now  said  to  be.  A  copy  was  brought  to  us, 
of  a  folio  size,  finely  written  and  embellished, 
from  the  pen  of  Seid  Mohammed  Ali,  a  cele- 
brated writer  in  the  service  of  Kurreem  Khan, 
who  was  personally  known  to  my  Dervish,  Is- 
mael,  and  who  lately  ended  his  days  at  the 
tomb  of  Imam  Hoossein,  at  Kerbela. 

In  the  open  central  portico  of  the  building 
which  divides  the  burying-ground  from  the 
garden,  are  some  marble  pillars  with  Arabic 
capitals,  no  pedestals,  and  plain  shafts,  each 
in  one  piece;  their  proportions  being,  like 
those  already  described,  nearly  Doric.  The 
garden  beyond  it  has  many  fine  cypresses  and 
flower-beds,  but  there  are  no  tombs  there. 

We  smoked  a  caleoon,  and  conversed  with 
some  of  the  Dervishes  here  ;  but  we  were  not 
suffered  to  depart  without  opening  the  Book 
of  Hafiz,  for  an  ode  suited  to  our  respective 
conditions.  Ismael  found  one,  which  told  him 
that  the  sickness  of  his  heart  was  occasioned 
by  an  absent  lover  for  whom  he  pined.    The 


THE    BOOK    OF    HAFIZ.  21? 

one  on  which  I  opened,  inveighed  against 
earthly  fame  and  glory,  compared  with  the 
enjoyments  of  the  present  hour ;  and  others 
of  our  party  thought  the  passages  found  by 
them,  on  opening  the  book,  equally  well  suited 
to  their  several  cases.  From  the  time  of 
Nadir  Shah,  no  one  indeed  comes  here  with- 
out making  this  trial  of  the  prophetic  power 
of  the  poet,  by  opening  his  book  at  random, 
and  finding  in  the  first  page  presented  a  pas- 
sage suited  to  his  condition,  and  all  go  away 
perfectly  convinced  of  its  unerring  truth  ;  so 
powerful  is  the  influence  of  a  well-grounded 
faith  and  previous  persuasion.  The  Soofees 
believe  that  souls  arrived  at  such  a  state  of 
wisdom  and  purity  as  those  of  Hafiz  and 
Saadi,  have  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all  that  is 
going  on  in  the  present  world ;  and  that  they 
thus  still  take  an  active  part  in  the  direc- 
tion of  its  affairs.  My  Dervish,  Ismael,  firmly 
believed  the  hand  of  Hafiz  to  have  directed 
the  opening  of  the  leaves  of  the  book  to  us 
all ;  and  insisted  on  it  that  the  poet  knew 
the  hearts  of  all  present.  Travelling  Der- 
vishes from  all  parts  of  the  East  come  here 
occasionally  to  occupy  the  few  chambers  that 
are  set  apart  for  them  ;  but  the  place  itself, 
with  the  Book  of  Hafiz,  and  the  tomb,   are 


28  SHIRAZ. 

all  under  the  charge  of  a  Moollah  of  Shiraz. 
The  Persians,  however,  do  not  come  here  to 
drink  wine,  and  pour  libations  on  the  tomb 
of  their  favourite  poet,  as  has  been  asserted 
by  some.  Those  who  drink  wine  in  Persia, 
at  the  present  day,  do  it  more  secretly  ;  and 
respect  for  learning  and  talents  is  not  so  ge- 
neral, as  to  draw  many  visitors  here  on  that 
account  alone. 

From  hence  we  went  to  the  large  tomb  of 
Shah  Mirza  Hamza,  a  son  of  Imam  Moosa. 
It  is  a  spacious  edifice,  crowned  by  a  lofty 
dome,  and  stands  close  to  the  road  on  the 
left  when  going  towards  Shiraz.  The  ex- 
terior is  much  injured,  and  falling  fast  to  de- 
cay;  the  interior  is  in  somewhat  better  pre- 
servation. The  tomb  of  the  saint  is  enclosed 
in  a  frame-work  of  wood,  with  a  grating  of 
brass  bars  ;  and  on  it  are  many  pious  offer- 
ings of  silver  vessels,  with  a  copy  of  the 
Koran,  and  many  gilded  tablets  written  over 
in  Arabic*     The  decorations  of  the  roofs  and 

*  Shah  Mirza  Hamza,  whose  tomb  is  at  Shiraz,  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Sultan  Mahomed,  one  of  the  early  SufFavean  kings,  and 
fell  under  the  blow  of  an  assassin  named  Hoodee,  a  barber, 
who  stabbed  him  in  his  private  apartment,  and  effected  his 
escape. — Hist,  of  Persia,  y oh  i.  p.  59,\. 


I 


TOMB    OF    SHAH    MIRZA   HAMZA.  29 

walls  are  later  than  the  construction  of  the 
edifice  itself;  they  are  ascribed  to  Kurreem 
Khan,  who  died  before  they  were  completed, 
and  they  have  never  since  been  continued. 
After  seeing  the  other  Persian  monuments  of 
a  similar  kind,  this  has  nothing  worthy  of 
particular  notice ;  but  on  beholding  so  proud 
an  edifice  as  this,  so  richly  ornamented,  and 
so  abundantly  furnished  with  offerings,  reared 
over  the  ashes  of  one  who  had  no  other  claim 
to  distinction  but  that  of  being  the  son  of  an 
Imam,  who  multiplied  his  species  by  hun- 
dreds from  his  own  loins,  while  the  graves  of 
Saadi  and  of  Hafiz  are  scarcely  distinguished 
from  the  common  herd,  we  had  a  striking 
proof  of  the  triumph  of  bigotry  and  super- 
stition, among  an  ignorant  and  declining  peo- 
ple, over  learning,  genius,  and  fame. 

We  returned  to  Shiraz  before  sunset,  hav- 
ing occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  the  day  in 
our  excursions.  Each  of  the  places  we  had 
visited  was  indeed  of  itself  sufficiently  in- 
teresting to  have  detained  us  longer,  had  we 
possessed  time  to  examine  them  separately  ; 
but  this  was  not  at  my  disposal.  Our  even- 
ing was  passed  in  great  happiness  with  my 
excellent  and  intelligent  friend,  Jaffier  Ali 


30  SHIRAZ. 

Khan,    and  a   small   party  of  learned  men 
whom  he  had  invited  to  sup  with  us. 

It  was  remarked  by  Herodotus,  that  among 
the  ancient  Persians  the  dishes  were  sepa- 
rately introduced,  which  occasioned  them  to 
say  that  the  Grecians  quitted  their  tables 
unsatisfied,  having  nothing  to  induce  them  to 
continue  there  ;  as,  if  they  had,  they  would 
eat  more.*  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that,  in 
social  parties,  the  same  custom  still  continues, 
and  that  rarely  more  than  one  or  two  dishes 
at  most  are  laid  on  the  table  at  a  time,  these 
being  succeeded  by  others  when  removed. 

Oct.  £8th. — As  both  the  air  and  water  of 
Bushire  was  represented  to  be  much  inferior 
to  that  of  Shiraz,  and  as  I  had  not  yet  per- 
fectly recovered  the  effects  of  my  fever  at 
Hamadan,  it  was  recommended  to  me  to  dis- 
patch a  messenger  to  the  English  Resident 
at  Bushire,  to  know  at  what  time  it  would  be 
necessary  to  be  there  for  the  first  vessels  that 
were  to  sail,  in  order  that  I  might  prolong  my 
stay  here,  rather  than  in  the  hot  and  sandy 
plain  of  Bushire.  I  accordingly  wrote  such 
a  letter,  intending  to  go  on  as  far  as  Shapoor, 

*  Herod.  Clio,  133. 


TOMB    OF    SEID   ALA-AL-DIN.  31 

about  midway,  and  then  meet  the  messenger, 
who  would  bring  his  answer  to  Kauzeroon. 

When  this  duty  was  performed,  we  went 
out  to  see  such  other  principal  tombs  in  the 
town  as  we  had  not  yet  visited.  The  first 
of  these  was  that  of  Seid  Ala-ul-Din,  son  of 
Imam  Moosa.  This  building  is  equally  spa- 
cious and  lofty  with  that  of  Shah  Ameer 
Hamza,  is  in  much  finer  preservation,  and 
the  decorations  are  infinitely  superior.  The 
tomb  itself  is  nearly  of  the  same  kind,  en- 
closed within  a  large  frame,  like  a  sanctuary, 
with  cage-work  of  brass,  finely  wrought ;  it  is 
covered  with  silver  vessels  as  offerings,  and 
on  it  lies  a  copy  of  the  Koran.  Above  is  sus- 
pended a  gaudy  canopy,  and  the  pavement  is 
covered  by  carpets  of  a  blue  ground,  of  the 
manufacture  of  Yezd,  in  which  Arabic  in- 
scriptions are  wrought  around  the  border  in 
characters  of  white,  well  formed  and  distinct. 
The  surbasement  of  the  walls  is  formed  of 
slabs  of  a  dark  and  clouded  marble,  some- 
times of  a  reddish  kind,  speckled  with  white, 
like  porphyry  :  the  columns  and  pilasters  at 
the  angles,  which  are  spirally  fluted,  with 
Arabic  capitals,  are  in  excellent  proportions, 
and  all  the  stone-work  is  well  wrought.    The 


32  SHIRAZ. 

decorations  of  the  roof  of  the  dome,  and  the 
walls,  in  which  Cufic  inscriptions  are  inge- 
niously introduced,  into  flowers,  &c.  are  quite 
equal  in  design  and  execution  to  any  thing 
at  Ispahan  ;  and  the  coloured  glass  windows, 
though  much  broken  and  injured,  are  sur- 
passed in  beauty  by  none  that  I  remember, 
not  even  those  of  the  room  in  which  I  slept 
at  the  palace  of  Shah  Abbas.  The  building 
itself,  and  its  decorations,  are  the  finest  in 
Shiraz.  It  is,  however,  much  neglected ; 
though  it  is  held  to  be  of  such  sanctity,  that 
poor  pilgrims  who  cannot  go  to  that  of  the 
Imam  Hussein,  at  Kerbela,  are  thought  to 
have  sufficiently  performed  their  duty,  if  they 
come  here  and  go  through  the  same  cere- 
monies of  their  pilgrimage.  We  met  many 
devotees  on  the  spot.  In  the  outer  small 
porch  of  entrance  we  noticed  an  old  tomb 
entirely  of  the  stone  like  porphyry  ;  and  in 
front  of  the  door  a  rude  lion  of  the  same 
material,  over  the  grave  of  one  who  had  been 
a  champion  in  the  athletic  exercises  practised 
here,  in  houses  set  apart  for  that  purpose. 

We  next  went  to  the  tomb  of  Hadjee  Seid 
Ghareeb,  and  Seid  Mohammed  Ibn  Zaid 
Ibn  Imam  Hassan.     This  was  a  low  building. 


TOMB    OF    HADJEE    SEID    GHAREEB.  33 

vaulted  in  the  usual  way  ;  but  its  decorations 
on  the  walls  and  ceilings  are  more  simple 
than  we  had  seen  before.  The  number  of 
little  silver  cups,  with  tassels,  brought  as 
offerings,  were  here  suspended  at  the  points 
of  the  dropping  ornaments  in  the  concave 
s6mi-arches,  and  produced  a  singular  effect. 
The  bodies  of  the  two  saints  named  were 
contained  within  one  frame-work  of  wood 
and  brass,  like  the  others  described;  and  each 
was  covered  with  offerings,  and  had  a  copy 
of  the  Koran.  We  saw  here  a  large  brass 
candlestick,  of  many  branches,  the  pedestal 
of  which  was  round  and  flat ;  but  where  the 
trunk  or  stem  began,  it  was  made  to  rest  on 
the  back  of  an  elephant,  well  wrought  in 
brass. 

From  hence  we  went  to  an  octangular 
building,  standing  isolated  in  the  midst  of  a 
large  cemetery,  and  called  Beebee  Dochte- 
roon,  the  daughter  of  Imam  Zein-el-Abe- 
deen ;  but,  the  door  being  closed,  we  did  not 
enter  it.  On  the  grave-stones  here  and  else- 
where, we  noticed  the  emblems  of  the  pro- 
fession or  trade  followed  by  the  deceased,  as 
was  customary  among  the  Greeks,  who  in  the 
Iliad  are  represented  as  putting  an  oar  to 

VOL.    II.  D 


SHIRAZ. 


designate  the  tomb  of  a  pilot.  Here  were 
swords,  shields,  pistols,  and  spears  for  war- 
riors ;  combs  and  circles  for  those  who  prayed 
much,  as  it  is  customary  for  devotees  to  lay 
a  comb  before  them  on  the  ground,  and  place 
the  forehead  on  it  when  praying  :  there  were 
also  scissors  and  cloth  for  tailors,  who  are 
not  ashamed  of  their  profession  in  Persia. 
On  our  way  back  to  the  town,  we  met  five 
horned  rams,  who  were  leading  forth  for  a 
public  fight,  this  being  a  favourite  diversion 
at  Shiraz.  We  noticed  many  birds,  kept  in 
cages,  in  the  tradesmen's  shops, — a  practice 
unknown  in  Turkey  or  Arabia. 

In  the  afternoon  we  went  with  Jaffier 
Ali  Khan,  to  see  a  friend  of  his,  who  was 
a  descendant  of  the  great  Jengiz  Khan,  the 
Tartar  conqueror.  This  man  was  now  at  the 
head  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  horsemen, 
in  Fars,  who  look  up  to  him  as  their  sovereign 
and  leader.  We  found  him  superintending 
the  laying  out  of  a  new  garden,  in  which  he 
appeared  to  take  great  pleasure.  He  was  a 
fine,  robust,  and  warlike-looking  man,  of  very 
dark  complexion,  and  of  features  very  diffe- 
rent from  Persian.     He  wore  talismans  on 


^ 


A    DESCENDANT    OF    JENGIZ    KHAN.  35 

both  his  arms,  spoke  roughly,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  train  of  dependents.  Our 
conversation  turned  chiefly  on  the  affairs  of 
Europe,  of  which  he  was  by  no  means  igno- 
rant. We  were  waited  on  by  many  Tartars, 
who  spoke  a  harsh  dialect  of  Turkish.  The 
people  attached  to  this  chief  are  wandering 
tribes,  living  in  tents,  and  occupying  the 
whole  of  the  Gurrum  Seer,  or  the  hot  dis- 
trict, and  the  borders  of  Fars,  Khorassan,  and 
Seistan.  They  speak  Persian  to  others,  but 
among  themselves  Turkish  is  mostly  used. 
This  leader  is  thought  to  be  the  richest  man 
in  the  whole  kingdom,  excepting  only  the 
sovereign,  whose  wealth  in  gold  and  jewels, 
hoarded  at  Teheran,  is  said  to  be  immense. 
The  chief's  treasure  is  also  conceived  to  be 
in  great  part  hidden  in  caves  and  mountains, 
known  only  to  himself  and  his  sons  ;  so  that 
the  Persian  Government  dares  not  oppress 
him ;  indeed  his  faithful  force  is  a  sufficient 
protection  against  this.  After  our  interview 
here,  he  accompanied  us  to  Jaffier  Ali  Khan's 
house,  and  remained  with  us  till  evening 
prayers.  Though  plainly  arrayed  in  his  gar- 
den, he  dressed  himself  for  his  visit  in  a  rich 


36  SHIRAZ. 

white  shawl  cloak,  and  a  still  richer  red  shawl 
of  Cashmere  around  his  waist,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  an  innumerable  train  of  servants. 

Oct.  29th. — As  the  drum  beat  for  the  as- 
sembling of  the  Gymnasts,  or  Athletes,  at  the 
Zoor  Khoneh,  or  house  of  strength,  at  an 
early  hour  this  morning,  we  attended  its  call, 
and  went  there  to  witness  the  exercises.  The 
place  was  small  and  dark.  The  arena  was  a 
deep  circle,  like  that  in  the  ancient  amphi- 
theatre, for  fights  of  beasts ;  and  the  seats 
for  spectators  were  arranged  around,  as  in 
theatres  generally.  The  soil  of  the  arena  was 
a  fine  firm  clay.  About  twenty  men  were 
soon  assembled  on  this,  each  of  them  naked, 
excepting  only  a  strong  girdle  to  conceal 
their  waist,  and  thick  pads  at  the  knees. 
There  were  also  two  little  boys  and  a  black 
slave  lad.  At  the  sound  of  a  drum  and  gui- 
tar, the  men  began  to  exercise  themselves 
with  large  clubs  held  across  their  shoulders, 
moving  in  a  measured  dance :  they  next  be- 
gan to  jump,  and  then  stoop  to  the  ground, 
as  if  about  to  sit,  springing  up  again  suddenly 
on  their  legs :  they  next  swung  one  foot  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time,  and  then  the 
other ;  after  which  there  was  violent  jump- 


THE    GYMNASTS,    OR    ATHLETES.  37 

ing  and  dancing,  and  afterwards  a  motion 
like  swimming  on  the  earth,  by  placing  their 
breasts  nearly  to  touch  the  soil,  then  drawing 
their  bodies  forward,  and  rising  again,  some 
even  in  this  position  bearing  a  man  clinging 
fast  to  their  loins.  They  next  began  to  walk 
on  their  hands,  with  their  feet  in  the  air, 
falling  from  this  position  hard  on  the  ground, 
turning  head  over  heels  in  the  air,  and,  last 
of  all,  wrestling  with  each  other.  All  these 
feats  were  performed  to  measured  tones  of 
music  ;  and  each  encounter  of  the  last  de- 
scription was  preceded  by  the  recital  of  a 
poem,  in  order  to  encourage  the  combatants, 
which  was  done  by  the  master  of  the  place. 
One  young  man,  about  twenty-five  years  old, 
from  six  feet  four  to  six  feet  six  inches  high, 
with  the  most  muscular,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  most  beautiful  form  that  I  ever  beheld, 
threw  all  his  antagonists ;  and  was  indeed  as 
superior  to  all  the  rest  in  skill  and  strength, 
as  he  was  more  nobly  elegant  in  his  form 
and  more  graceful  in  all  his  motions.  Jaffier 
Ali  had  known  this  champion  from  a  youth 
of  five  years  old.  When  a  lad,  he  was  so 
handsome  that  all  the  women  of  Shiraz 
who  saw  him  were  in  love  with  him.    He  had 


38  SHIRAZ. 

constantly  frequented  the  Zoor  Khoneh,  and 
his  strength  and  beauty  of  form  had  improved 
together.  For  myself,  I  never  beheld  so  com- 
plete a  model  of  manly  beauty,  and  had  never 
before  thought  that  so  much  grace  and  ele- 
gance could  be  given  to  violent  movements 
as  I  witnessed  here :  it  realized  all  the  ideal 
strength  and  beauty  of  the  sculptures  of  the 
Greeks.  There  were  many  strong  and  active 
men  among  the  others,  but  none  to  be  com- 
pared with  this. 

These  houses  of  strength  were  once  patron- 
ized by  the  Persian  Government,  but  they 
are  now  no  longer  so  supported  ;  the  people 
of  the  country  are  however  much  attached 
to  the  exercises,  and  attend  them  fully  and 
frequently.  The  money  given  by  visitors  who 
take  no  part  in  the  exercises  goes  to  a  fund 
for  the  institution  ;  and  the  rich  and  mid- 
dling classes,  of  whom  there  are  many  who 
enter  the  lists,  make  up  the  deficiency.  On 
Fridays  the  place  is  crowded  with  visitors,  who 
give  presents  at  their  discretion.  There  are 
four  or  five  of  these  houses  at  Shiraz,  many 
more  at  Ispahan,  several  at  Kermanshah  and 
Teheran,  and  indeed  in  all  the  great  towns 
of  Khorassan  and  Turkomania,  as  far  as  Bok- 


THE    GYMNASTS,    OR    ATHLETES.  39 

hara  and  Samarcand,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  my  Dervish,  who  says  he  has  seen 
them  and  frequented  them  often.     At  Bag- 
dad and  Moosul  there  are  the  same  institu- 
tions, and  by  the  same  name  of  Zoor  Khoneh  ; 
which  proves  their  having  been  borrowed  from 
this  country,  as  the  name  is  purely  Persian. 
At  Bagdad,  about  two  years  since,  there  came 
a  Pehlawan,  or  champion,  named  Melek  Mo- 
hammed, from    Casvin,  and  addressed  him- 
self to  the  Pasha.     It  is  the  custom  for  these 
champions  to  go  from  place  to  place,  to  try 
their  strength  with  the  victors  or  champions 
of  each  ;  and  if  there  be  none  at  the  place 
last  visited,  the  governor  is  obliged  to  give  a 
hundred  tomaums ;  but  if  there  be  one,  and 
the  stranger  vanquishes  him,  he  must  be  con- 
tent with  the  honour  of  victory  and  succeed- 
ing to  the  place  of  the  vanquished.    The  Pasha 
of  Bagdad  replying  to  Melek  Mohammed  that 
he  had  a  champion  already  attached  to  his 
court,  a  day  was  appointed  for  the   man  of 
Casvin  to  try  his  strength  with  him  of  Bag- 
dad.    Moosa  Baba,  the  Pasha's  Kabobshee,  or 
sausage-maker,  appeared,  and  both  the  com- 
batants were  stripped,  and  girded  with  the 
girdle  of  the  Zoor  Khoneh  alone,  before  the 


40  SHIRAZ. 

Pasha's  house.  The  Casvin  champion  seized 
the  Bagdad  cook  by  the  stomach,  and  so 
wrenched  him  with  the  grasp  of  one  hand 
only,  that  the  man  fainted  on  the  spot,  and 
died  within  five  days  afterwards.  The  Pasha 
rewarded  the  victor  with  ten  pieces  of  gold, 
a  handsome  dress,  and  made  him  his  chief 
Cawass.  Three  or  four  months  afterwards, 
came  a  man  from  a  place  called  Dejeil,  near 
the  Tigris,  and  at  a  distance  of  ten  hours' 
journey  from  Bagdad,  on  the  road  to  Samara, 
He  offered  to  combat  the  Casvin  Melek  Mo- 
hammed. A  second  combat  took  place,  and 
though  this  new  opponent  was  thought  to 
be  a  man  of  uncommon  strength,  the  victor 
caught  him  by  a  single  grasp,  whirled  him 
in  the  air,  and  threw  him  so  violently  on  the 
ground  that  he  expired  on  the  spot.  After 
this,  the  champion  was  advanced  in  the  Pasha's 
favour,  and  now  receives  about  fifty  piastres,  or 
nearly  five  pounds  sterling,  per  day  ;  twenty- 
five  for  his  pay  as  Cawass,  ten  as  champion 
of  the  Zoor  Khoneh,  and  fifteen  for  his  ex- 
penses in  women,  wine,  and  forbidden  plea- 
sures ! — From  this  exhibition  we  went  to  the 
Medresse  Khan,  or  chief  college  of  Shiraz.  It 
was   originally   constructed  in    the  style   of 


STREETS    OF    SHIRAZ.  41 

those  at  Ispahan,  having  two  minarets  with- 
out, coated  with  coloured  tiles ;  and  in  the 
centre  of  a  square  court,  a  fine  garden,  with 
two  stories  of  chambers,  facing  it  all  round. 
It  is  now  much  decayed,  and  the  lower  cham- 
bers only  are  occupied  by  a  few  children 
under  the  tuition  of  MooUahs,  their  parents 
paying  the  charge  of  their  education.  There 
are  several  other  Medresses  or  colleges, — some 
inhabited  and  others  deserted,  but  all  of  them 
are  smaller  and  inferior  to  this. 

The  streets  of  Shiraz  are  like  those  of  all 
Eastern  cities,  narrow,  dark,  and  generally 
unpaved :  the  new  bazaars  are  however  suffi- 
ciently wide  for  business  and  comfort.  One 
of  the  great  peculiarities  of  the  place  is  the 
appearance  of  high  square  towers,  with  aper- 
tures at  the  top  for  catching  the  wind  and 
conducting  it  to  the  lower  apartments  of  the 
houses.  They  are  called  Baudgheers,  or  wind- 
catchers,  and  look  at  a  distance  like  ordinary 
towers.  The  domes  of  the  mosques  at  Shiraz 
embrace  at  least  two-thirds  of  a  globe  in  their 
shape,  being  small  at  the  bottom,  expand- 
ing in  the  centre,  and  lastly  closing  in  at  the 
top.  Some  of  them  are  ribbed  perpendicu- 
larly, and  painted  green  ;   others  are  coated 


42  SHIRAZ. 

with  coloured  tiles  ;  but,  generally  speak- 
ing, their  effect  is  much  inferior  to  those  of 
Ispahan.  All  kinds  of  provisions,  bread,  and 
fruit,  are  varied,  excellent,  and  cheap  here ; 
yet  there  appeared  to  be  more  beggars  in 
Shiraz  than  we  had  seen  elsewhere  in  any 
part  of  Persia.  The  men  are  a  fine,  hand- 
some race,  the  children  are  fair,  and  the  wo- 
men beautiful :  these  last  dress  in  blue  check 
cloths  and  white  veils,  with  a  little  square 
grating  of  net-work  before  their  eyes.  The 
situation  of  Shiraz  is  very  agreeable,  being 
in  the  midst  of  an  extensive  and  fertile  plain, 
bounded  by  mountains  on  all  sides.  It  lies 
on  nearly  the  same  level  as  Ispahan,  and  is 
only  a  little  lower  than  Hamadan  ;  but  the 
climate  is  considered  better  than  .  either  of 
these,  and  diseases  of  any  kind  are  very  rare. 
The  seasons  are  so  regular,  that  they  change 
almost  to  a  given  day :  the  spring  and  au- 
tumn are  delightful ;  the  summer  moderate 
with  respect  to  heat ;  and  the  winter  of  three 
months  cold,  with  not  more  than  one  month 
in  the  year  of  either  snow  or  rain. 

The  inhabitants  of  Shiraz   are   nearly  all 
Moslems,  of  the  Sheeah  sect.*     There  are  a 

*  Arrian  gives  a  very  striking  description  of  the  manner  in 


THE    SHAH    ZADE.  43 

few  Jews,  and  some  Armenians ;  the  last  two 
classes  being  chiefly  merchants,  trading  bro- 
kers, and  makers  of  the  wine  of  Shiraz,  which 
is  said  to  be  degenerating  in  quality  every 
year.  The  Shah  Zade  has  a  good  force  of 
horse  and  foot,  besides  the  wandering  tribes, 
whom  he  can  command  in  great  numbers. 
The  leading  characteristics  of  the  Prince  are 
indifference  and  imbecility :  he  makes  no 
pretensions  to  the  crown  of  Persia,  and  is 
therefore  not  an  object  of  jealousy.  The 
Nizam-ud-Dowla  of  Ispahan  had  been  lately 
appointed  to  the  government  of  Shiraz,  to 
act   under  the  Prince.      This  man  is  said  to 

which  the  marriages  of  the  ancient  Persians  were  performed, 
in  his  account  of  the  nuptials  of  Alexander  and  some  of  his 
generals.  He  says  :  *  Alexander  now  turned  his  mind  to  the 
celebration  of  his  own  and  his  friends'  nuptials  at  Susa.  He 
himself  married  Barsine,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Darius  ;  and  in 
all  eighty  daughters  of  the  most  illustrious  nobility,  Persians  as 
well  as  Medes,  were  united  to  as  many  of  Alexander's  friends. 
The  nuptials  were  celebrated  in  the  Persian  manner.  Seats 
were  placed  for  those  who  were  about  to  be  married,  according 
to  their  rank.  After  a  banquet,  the  ladies  were  introduced,  and 
each  sat  down  by  the  side  of  her  husband,  who  each,  beginning 
with  Alexander  himself,  took  the  right  hand  of  his  bride  and 
kissed  her.  All  observed  this  ceremony,  and  then  each  man 
retired  with  his  wife.'  The  simplicity  of  this  mode  is  a  striking- 
contrast  to  the  pompous  ceremonies  of  the  modern  Parsees, 
their  descendants. 


44  SHIRAZ. 

be  the  greatest  extortioner  that  even  Persia 
has  ever  seen,  and  is  therefore  a  favourite 
with  the  King,  who  is  cruel  and  avaricious, 
and  is  cordially  hated  by  all  his  subjects. 
The  people  of  Shiraz  are  free,  open-hearted, 
polite,  and  given  to  pleasure.  Wine  is  often 
drunk  in  private  parties  :  and  public  women 
are  in  greater  numbers  here  than  even  at 
Ispahan.  Literature  and  the  arts  had  been 
for  years  declining,  and  every  thing  has  been 
growing  worse  for  the  last  twenty  years. 

There  are  but  few  Guebres,  as  the  an- 
cient disciples  of  Zoroaster,  the  fire-wor- 
shippers of  Persia,  are  called,  at  Shiraz. 
They  come  occasionally  frona  Yezd  and  He- 
rat, but  seldom  remain  to  settle.  When  they 
do,  however,  they  live  in  a  separate  class, 
like  the  Jews,  and  observe  their  own  pecu- 
liar customs  of  marriage,  funeral,  and  other 
ceremonies,  which  resemble  those  practised 
by  the  Parsees  at  Guzerat  and  Bombay.* 

*  Herodotus,  at  a  very  early  period,  makes  the  following 
observations  on  the  manner  in  which  the  ancient  Persian  fune- 
rals were  observed.  He  says  :  '  As  to  what  relates  to  their  dead, 
I  will  not  affirm  it  to  be  true  that  these  are  never  interred  till 
some  bird  or  dog  has  dis  covered  a  propensity  to  prey  on  them. 
This,  however,  is  unquestionably  certain  of  the  Magi,  who  pub- 
licly  observe  this  custom.* — Clio,  140.     Beloe,  in   his  note  on 


PERSIAN    FUNERALS.  45 

this,  says  :  '  The  Magi  for  a  long  time  retained  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  having  their  bodies  left  as  a  prey  to  carnivorous 
animals.  In  succeeding  times,  the  Persians  abandoned  all 
corpses  indiscriminately  to  birds  and  beasts  of  prey.  This  cus- 
tom still  in  part  continues  :  the  place  of  burial  of  the  Guebres, 
at  the  distance  of  half  a  league  from  Ispahan,  is  a  round  tower 
made  of  freestone  ;  it  is  thirty-five  feet  in  height,  and  ninety 
in  diameter,  w^ithout  gate  or  any  kind  of  entrance  :  they  as- 
cend it  by  a  ladder.  In  the  midst  of  the  tower  is  a  kind  of 
trench,  into  which  the  bones  are  thrown.  The  bodies  are  ranged 
along  the  wall,  in  their  proper  clothes,  upon  a  small  couch,  with 
bottles  of  wine,  &c.  The  ravens,  which  fill  the  cemetery,  de- 
vour them.  This  is  also  the  case  with  the  Guebres  at  Surat,  as 
well  as  at  Bombay.* 


46  FROM   SHlllAZ 


CHAPTER  II. 

FROM    SHIRAZ,    BY    KOTEL    DOKHTER,    TO 
KAUZEROON. 

Nov.  1st. — All  our  arrangements  for  quit- 
ting Shiraz  having  been  completed,  we  were 
stirring  soon  after  midnight,  though,  from 
kind  attention  to  our  comfort  on  the  part 
of  our  hospitable  friend,  Jafiier  Ali  Khan, 
we  were  detained  for  some  time  afterwards, 
— --and  it  was  not  until  the  moon  had  set, 
that  we  mounted  for  our  journey.  Passing 
through  the  extensive  village  of  Mesjed 
Berdy,  which,  in  old  Persian,  signifies  the 
stone  mosque,  we  had  gardens  on  either 
hand,  to  the  number  of  at  least  a  thousand, 
and  all  of  them  were  said  to  be  productive 
of  a  variety  and  abundance  of  the  best  fruits. 

Our  course  from  hence  lay  westerly  across 


CHAPTER  II. 


STEEP  MOUNTAIN  PASS  OF  KOTEL  DOKHTER. 


1 


TO    KAUZEROON.  47 

the  plain,  the  hills  narrowing  on  each  side, . 
and  their  points  of  union,  which  form  the 
western  pass  out  of  the  valley  of  Shiraz, 
immediately  before  us.  As  the  paths  were 
numerous,  and  equally  beaten,  we  took  one 
of  the  northernmost,  which  led  us  astray; 
and  at  daylight  we  found  ourselves  entangled 
in  mountains,  without  a  guide,  or  any  clue 
to  extricate  ourselves.  The  mountains  here 
were  lofty  and  rugged,  and  composed  of 
limestone  of  different  qualities, — some  form- 
ing a  streaked  marble  of  cloudy  white,  like 
the  slabs  on  the  sides  and  ends  of  Hafiz's 
tomb,  which  was  probably  hewn  from  hence, 
and  not  brought  from  Tabriz, — and  others 
of  a  reddish  cast.  Every  part,  even  to  the 
summits,  was  covered  with  vegetation  and 
brushwood,  and  the  narrow  valleys  afforded 
pasture  to  numerous  flocks. 

We  at  length  met  with  some  shepherds, 
who  directed  us  how  to  cross  the  mountains 
on  our  left  by  a  path  known  to  themselves 
only,  and  one  of  them  took  the  pains,  un- 
asked, to  accompany  us  part  of  the  way. 
The  language  spoken  among  these  moun- 
taineers, though  thus  close  to  Shiraz,  is  said 
to  be  the  old  dialect  of  Fars,  from  which  the 


48  rilOM    SHIRAZ 

present  language  of  Persia  has  been  formed. 
They  are  all  acquainted,  however,  with  this 
last,  and  use  it  in  their  communication  with 
strangers  ;  but  what  surprised  me  more,  was 
to  find  that  Turkish,  of  a  corrupt  kind,  was 
so  familiar  to  all,  that  it  was  the  language  of 
conversation  between  the  Dervish  and  them- 
selves.* 

When  our  shepherd  guide  left  us,  we 
went  down  over  the  southern  side  of  the 
hills,  toward  the  high  road ;  and  as  the  sun 
had  now  risen,  we  halted  on  the  banks  of 
a  clear  stream,  flowing  from  the  westward 
through  the  valley,  to  wash  and  refresh. 
There  was  just  above  us,  to  the  south-west, 
the  wreck  of  a  ruined  village,  called  Kooshk 
Bostack,  which  gave  its  name  to  the  stream 
also  ;  and  the  Dervish  Ismael,  who  on  some 
occasions  dreaded  the  mischievous  practices 
of  demons,  and  at  others  was  too  much  a  phi- 
losopher to  admit  the  belief  of  any  thing  as 

*  In  the  various  migrations  of  the  tribes  of  Tartary,  several 
of  them  have  at  different  periods  come  from  the  plains  of  Syria 
into  Persia.  The  Shamloo,  or  sons  of  Syria,  are  perhaps  at  this 
moment  one  of  the  most  numerous  of  all  the  Turkish  tribes  of 
Persia.  The  Karagoozaloo.  the  Baharloo,  and  several  other 
tribes,  are  branches  of  the  Shamloo,  who  were  brought  into 
Persia  from  Syria  by  Timour. — Hist,  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  391.' 


TO    KAUZEROON.  49 

certain,  excepting  only  the  existence  of  God, 
insisted  on  it  that  it  was  through  the  malice 
of  the  devils  residing  in  these  ruins,  that  we 
were  this  morning  entangled  among  the  hills, 
and  led  astray  from  the  king's  highway.  I 
should  have  suffered  him  to  have  entertained 
this  opinion,  without  attempting  to  combat 
it,  but  that  he  drew  from  thence  the  most 
inauspicious  omens,  and  became  quite  dis- 
heartened from  proceeding.  A  few  days' 
detention,  he  said,  would  probably  procure 
us  the  protection  of  a  caravan  ;  why  then, 
he  asked,  in  these  times  of  turbulence  and 
trouble,  when  famine  rendered  men  despe- 
rate,— when  all  the  evil  spirits  were  abroad, 
and  the  world  evidently  approaching  its  dis- 
solution,— should  we  venture  ourselves  alone 
against  such  a  host  of  foes  ?  He  thought 
this  was  a  warning  for  us  to  return,  to  which 
we  should  not  be  insensible  ;  and,  for  the 
first  time  since  his  being  with  me,  he  seemed 
almost  angry  at  my  apparent  obstinacy.  He 
told  me  that,  on  leaving  Ispahan,  he  had  pro- 
mised, by  a  secret  vow,  to  give  a  rupee  to 
the  fund  of  the  poor  at  some  tomb  here,  if 
we  arrived  safe ;  and  he  had  actually  per- 
formed his,vow  at  Shiraz  ;  but  he  now  thought 

VOL.    II.  E 


50  FllOM    SHIRAZ 

that  even  this  preparatory  good  deed  would 
be  insufficient  to  preserve  us  from  the  many 
dangers  that  threatened  on  every  side.^ 

We  remounted  at  the  stream,  ascended  the 
hill,  passed  safely  by  this  supposed  haunt  of 
devils,  and  got  at  length  into  the  high  road, 
along  which  we  continued  our  way  westerly, 
inclining  often  a  point  or  two  to  the  north. 
The  ground  over  which  we  went  was  in 
general  uneven,  but  the  road  good,  and  the 
country,  though  uncultivated,  of  a  more  agree- 
able aspect  than  the  bare  lands  of  Irak,  as  ver- 
dure and  bushes  were  nov/  every  where  seen. 

*  As  a  striking  instance  how  readily  one  class  of  popular 
traditions  may  be  received,  and  another  of  nearly  the  same  de- 
scription rejected,  by  the  same  individual,  the  following  may  be 
mentioned :  In  his  History  of  Persia,  Sir  John  Malcolm  says, 
that  during  a  famine  in  Khorassan,  when  ravaged  also  by  the 
Usbeg  Tartars,  in  the  reign  of  Shah  Tamasp,  and  a  plague 
raged  at  the  same  time,  men  ate  their  own  species ;  but  it  was 
relieved  by  showers  from  Heaven : — there  fell,  according  to 
Persian  authors,  a  substance  resembling  a  diminutive  grain  of 
wheat;  and  this  substance,  when  mixed  with  a  small  portion 
of  flour,  became  a  most  nourishing  food.  This  is,  at  least,  a 
very  similar  event  to  the  supply  of  manna  in  the  wilderness, 
which  has  been  accounted  for  on  natural  grounds  ;  yet  General 
Malcolm,  while  he  says  nothing  of  his  incredulity  as  to  the 
one,  evidently  thinks  the  other  to  be  a  mere  fable,  to  judge  by 
his  notes  of  admiration  affixed  to  the  passage  in  question. — 
Vol.  i.  p.  511. 


TO    KAUZEROON.  .        51 

Soon  after  noon  we  arrived  at  a  flat  valley, 
with  abundance  of  wood,  and  a  transpa- 
rent stream  winding  through  it,  over  a  white 
pebbly  bed,  from  the  north-westward.  There 
was  here  an  abundance  of  cattle  feeding  on 
rich  grass  near  the  banks,  and  flocks  of  water- 
fowl along  the  river's  edge.  The  herds  were 
carefully  watched  by  shepherds  during  the 
day,  and  were  all  driven  into  shelter  before 
sunset,  as  lions  were  known  to  have  their 
dens  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  to  prowl 
here  at  night,  to  the  terror  both  of  caravans 
and  single  passengers. 

It  was  in  this  valley  that  we  found  the 
first  caravansera,  with  a  few  huts  attached  to 
it,  called  Khoneh  Zemoon,  and  esteemed  to 
be  seven  fursucks  from  Shiraz.  As  our  horses 
were  fresh,  we  did  not  halt  here,  but  pursued 
our  way  to  the  westward,  over  a  country  si- 
milar to  that  already  described.  In  about 
two  hours  we  came  again  to  a  winding  stream, 
with  trees  of  exactly  the  same  description  as 
those  found  at  the  place  we  had  just  passed ; 
and  here  we  were  cautioned  to  be  particularly 
on  our  guard,  more  especially  as  night  was 
advancing. 

From  hence  we  ascended  a  steep  hill,  call- 

E  2 


52  FROM    SHIRAZ 

ed  Kotel  Oosoon-e-Siffeed,  or  the  white- 
bosomed  hill,  well  wooded  throughout,  of  lime 
rock  in  its  composition,  and  presenting  us 
with  some  interesting  views  in  our  ascent. 
On  gaining  the  summit,  we  had  before  us,  on 
the  western  side,  the  fine  plain  of  Dusht- 
urgeon,  so  called  from  a  particular  tree  of 
the  latter  name  being  common  near  it. 

The  large  village  of  the  same  name  ap- 
peared seated  immediately  beneath  the  cliff 
of  the  north-western  hills ;  and  just  before 
sunset  we  entered  it.  Although  this  was  the 
second  halt  of  the  caravans  from  Shiraz  to 
Bushire,  there  was  now  no  shelter  for  pas- 
sengers ;  the  old  caravansera  being  destroyed, 
and  materials  only  preparing  for  the  building 
of  a  new  one.  The  Dervish,  however,  who 
had  the  talent  of  speedily  ingratiating  him- 
self in  the  favour  of  strangers  in  a  higher  de- 
gree than  any  one  I  ever  knew,  prevailed  on 
a  young  wife,  in  an  advanced  state  of  preg- 
nancy with  her  first  child,  to  give  us  a  part  of 
her  chamber,  without  consulting  her  husband, 
who  had  not  yet  returned  from  his  labours. 
This  was  not  all;  for  our  horses  were  shelter- 
ed in  the  stable  below,  and  the  man's  own 
cattle  turned  out  to  make  room  for  them  ; 


TO    KAUZEROON.  53 

and  by  the  time  that  the  husband  appeared, 
we  had  a  supper  of  such  humble  food  as  the 
family  themselves  fared  on,  of  which  he  sat 
down  and  partook  with  us,  exclaiming,  '  In 
the  name  of  God,  the  Holy  and  the  Merci- 
ful !'  without  asking  a  single  question  as  to 
the  cause  of  our  being  of  the  party,  and  with 
as  much  cordiality  as  if  we  had  been  friends 
for  many  months.  We  smoked  and  talked 
freely  together,  throughout  the  evening,  with 
the  same  good  understanding,  undisturbed 
by  the  most  distant  enquiry ;  which  was  al- 
together so  new  to  me  in  Persia,  though  not 
uncommon  in  Turkey,  and  almost  universal 
in  Arabia,  that  I  was  at  a  loss  how  to  account 
for  the  change  of  manners ;  and  when  the 
hour  of  repose  came,  we  lay  down,  each  tak- 
ing a  separate  corner  of  the  room,  with  a  blaz- 
ing wood  fire  in  the  middle  of  it,  as  the  night 
was  severely  cold. 

Nov.  2nd. — The  plain  of  Dusht-urgeon  is 
nearly  of  a  circular  form,  and  is  about  two 
fursucks,  or  eight  miles,  in  its  general  dia- 
meter. It  is  hemmed  in  by  mountains  on  each 
side, — those  on  the  north-west  and  south-east 
being  steep  cliffs,  while  the  passes  of  inlet  and 
outlet  are  to  the  north-east  and  south-west, 


54  FllOIvl    SHIRAZ 

with  a  more  decisive  separation  or  opening  of 
the  hills  in  the  western  quarter.  Through 
the  centre  of  the  plain  wind  several  streams, 
on  whose  banks  are  the  trees  which  give  name 
to  it,  and  which,  from  the  description  of  my 
companion,  I  conceived  to  be  a  sort  of  willow, 
though  we  did  not  see  any  sufficiently  near 
for  me  to  determine.  A  small  portion  of  the 
plain  only  is  applied  to  culture,  but  it  was  now 
entirely  covered  by  flocks  in  every  direction, 
and  horned  cattle  were  here  more  abundant 
than  we  had  seen  them  before  in  any  part  of 
the  country. 

The  town  of  Dusht-urgeon  is  seated  im- 
mediately at  the  foot  of  the  northern  and 
north-western  cliffs,  and  lies  on  a  gently 
ascending  ground.  There  are  from  five  to 
six  hundred  houses  in  it,  all  built  of  stone,  and 
thatched  over  a  flat  roof;  containing  courts 
and  stalls  attached,  suited  to  the  wants  of  the 
inhabitants,  who  may  be  reckoned  at  about 
two  thousand.  Agriculture,  and  the  feeding 
of  their  herds  and  flocks,  furnish  their  chief 
occupation ;  besides  which,  they  cultivate  the 
vine  with  great  success,  and  produce  raisins 
and  sweetmeats  in  sufficient  abundance  to 
admit  of  a  large  surplus  for  sale.     The  whole 


TO    KAUZEROON.  -  55 

surface  of  the  mountain  to  the  northward  of 
the  town,  and  almost  hanging  over  it,  presents 
a  singular  picture  of  industry  and  care,  in 
being  spread  over  with  vineyards  from  the 
base  to  the  very  summit. 

Dusht-urgeon  is  the  reputed  birth-place  of 
Selman  Pak,  the  barber  and  friend  of  Mo- 
hammed, who  was  thought  by  some  to  be  a 
native  of  Modain,  and  who  has  his  tomb  on 
the  ruins  of  Ctesiphon,  where  it  is  annually 
visited  by  the  barbers  from  Bagdad.  It  is 
said  that  during  his  lifetime  here,  while  he 
sat  by  one  of  the  streams  in  the  plain,  a  large 
lion  appeared  to  mark  him  for  his  prey;  but 
as  he  called  on  the  name  of  the  Almighty 
for  help,  exclaiming,  '  There  is  no  God  but 
God,  and  Mohammed  is  the  Apostle  of  God!' 
a  visible  hand  arose  from  the  stream,  seized 
his  enemy  in  his  grasp,  and  destroyed  it  in  an 
instant.  In  commemoration  of  this  event,  a 
small  domed  edifice  is  erected,  about  a  fur- 
long to  the  south-west  of  the  town,  seated 
amid  trees  and  water;  and  from  the  centre  of 
its  dome  rises  the  figure  of  a  human  hand, 
which  is  said  to  allude  to  the  event  described. 

As  we  had  lost  our  way  on  the  morning 
of  yesterday,  we  delayed  our  departure  until 


56  FROM    SHIRAN 

it  was  perfect  daylight,  when  we  thanked  our 
kind  entertainers,  and  set  out  on  our  way. 
Our  course  across  the  plain  lay  to  the  south- 
west ;  and  in  about  two  hours,  having  gone 
through  its  diameter  in  that  direction,  we 
came  to  the  foot  of  an  ascent,  which  appeared 
at  first  gentle,  but  afterwards  proved  suffi- 
ciently difficult.  This  was  wooded  with 
larger  trees  than  we  had  yet  seen,  of  an 
evergreen  kind  ;  and  we  enjoyed  some  charm- 
ing views  of  the  country,  in  our  way  up  it. 
Here  too,  as  on  all  the  hills  we  had  recently 
passed,  were  hundreds  of  the  beautiful  moun- 
tain partridges,  which  abound  in  these  parts  ; 
and,  from  their  never  being  molested,  they 
suffer  passengers  to  approach  them  closely, 
without  evincing  the  least  fear. 

We  were  about  two  hours  before  we  gained 
the  summit  of  this  range,  as  our  ascent  was 
by  stages  divided  by  small  portions  of  level 
road ;  and  when  we  came  on  the  opposite  brow 
of  the  mountain,  we  opened  the  view  of  a 
narrow  valley  covered  with  wood,  and  having 
the  dry  bed  of  a  stream  winding  through  it 
from  the  south-east.  Immediately  beneath 
us,  and  beyond  the  low  ridge  of  hills  which 


TO    KAUZEROON.  57 

formed  its  farther  boundary,  was  the  plain 
of  Kauzeroon,  which  was  exceedingly  deep, 
and  at  least  four  thousand  feet  below  our 
present  level, — the  view  closing  in  that  di- 
rection by  a  steep  and  lofty  bed  of  mountains, 
forming  a  barrier  in  the  west. 

We  descended  over  the  rugged  brow  of  this 
mountain  of  Peerazunn,  or  the  old  woman, 
by  a  winding  path,  leading  our  horses,  and 
moving  at  every  step  with  great  caution. 
The  fatigue  was  of  itself  sufficiently  painful 
to  all ;  but,  in  addition  to  this,  the  rocky 
masses  in  some  places,  and  the  pits  in  others, 
with  sharp-edged  stones  that  slipped  from 
our  tread,  so  pained  our  feet,  that  we  halted 
several  times,  on  our  way  down,  to  breathe 
and  repose. 

In  about  two  hours  we  came  to  a  caravan- 
sera,  which  forms  a  station  for  the  passen- 
gers on  this  road ;  and  our  fatigue  would 
have  induced  us  to  halt  here,  but  that  there 
was  at  present  neither  water  nor  food  for  us 
or  our  horses,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary 
to  proceed.  This  station  is  called  simply  Ca- 
ravansera  Kotel,  and  is  estimated  to  be  only 
four  fursucks  from  Dusht-urgeon  ;  but  if  this 


58  FROM    SHIRAZ 

be  correct,  the  distance  must  be  measured  in 
a  straight  line,  as  in  actual  surface  we  thought 
it  at  least  six. 

From  hence  we  descended  a  short  distance 
further,  and  came  into  the  wooded  valley 
described  :  its  direction  is  from  south-east  to 
north-west,  and  its  descent  towards  the  latter 
quarter  is  very  perceptible.  Its  south-western 
boundary  was  a  ridge  of  pointed  hills,  com- 
posed of  many  separate  masses,  all  uniform 
in  shape  ;  and  at  their  feet  wound  through 
the  valley  the  pebbly  bed  of  a  river  now 
entirely  dry.  This  valley  was  covered  with 
a  rich  soil,  many  portions  of  which  were  cul- 
tivated, though  the  trees  were  left  standing, 
and  the  whole  resembled  the  scenery  of  a 
thickly-wooded  park.  The  trees  here  were 
mostly  of  the  kind  called  Belloot.  It  pro- 
duces a  small  fruit,  in  shape  like  a  date ;  the 
use  of  which  is  common  in  dysenteries,  and 
is  found  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  to 
be  a  very  effectual  remedy. 

On  the  side  of  the  mountains  to  the  right, 
was  a  small  village  called  Khoneh  Khalidj, 
to  which  the  cultivated  lands  of  this  val- 
ley belonged,  and  whose  population  was  from 
four  to  five  hundred  persons. 


TO    KAUZEROOK.  59 

We  left  this  valley  by  passing  over  a  gentle 
hill  on  the  north-west,  and  came  to  a  small 
square  tower,  used  as  a  station  for  guards 
of  the  road,  and  called  Rah-dan.  We  found 
here  two  or  three  musketeers,  the  rest  being 
scattered  over  the  mountains  looking  out. 
These  men  detained  us  by  long  and  close 
examinations ;  as  they  took  us  to  be  robbers, 
from  our  wearing  Arab  dresses,  being  well 
armed,  and  daring  to  travel  alone.  They 
would  fain  have  obstructed  our  passage  fur- 
ther, and  held  us  in  custody  until  their  com- 
rades appeared  :  but  as  we  were  well  mounted 
and  nearly  equal  to  them  in  number,  we  de- 
fied their  threats  and  proceeded  on  our  way, 
— not  wondering  at  the  roads  being  unsafe 
when  such  inefficacious  measures  as  these 
were  thought  sufficient  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  to  render  them  secure. 

We  came  soon  afterwards  on  the  brow  of 
another  mountain,  called  Kotel  Dokhter,  or 
the  '  Hill  of  the  Daughter,'  as  secondary  to 
that  of  the  'Old  Woman,'  which  we  had 
passed  before.  This  presented  us  with  a 
perpendicular  cliff  of  about  twelve  hundred 
feet  in  height,  at  the  foot  of  which  com- 
menced the  plain  of  Kauzeroon.     The  de- 


60  FROM    SHIRAN 

scent  down  over  this  steep  was  by  a  zigzag 
road,  once  well  paved,  and  walled  on  the 
outer  side  ;  and  from  the  steepness  of  the 
cliff,  down  which  it  wound  its  way,  the 
several  portions  of  the  zigzag  line  were 
sometimes  not  more  than  ten  paces  in  length, 
in  any  one  direction,  so  that  they  were  like 
a  flight  of  steps  placed  at  acute  angles  with 
each  other.  We  were  nearly  an  hour  de- 
scending this,  before  we  gained  the  plain;  and 
were  several  times  hailed  in  the  course  of  our 
passage  down  by  musketeers  from  the  moun- 
tains, many  of  whom  we  could  not,  with  all 
our  endeavours,  distinguish  from  the  dark 
masses  of  rock,  in  the  recesses  of  which  they 
stood,  though  we  conversed  with  them,  re- 
plied to  all  their  questions,  and  could  point 
distinctly  to  the  spot  from  whence  the  sound 
of  their  voices  issued.  These  men,  like  their 
companions  at  the  Rah-dan,  insisted  on  our 
being  wanderers  in  search  of  plunder  ;  and 
two  of  them  fired  at  us,  with  a  view  to  ter- 
rify us  into  submission.  The  Dervish,  how- 
ever, put  a  worse  construction  on  this  exer- 
cise of  their  privilege,  by  insisting  that  they 
were  as  often  robbers  themselves,  as  they 
were  the  guardians  of  the  road  ;  for  though, 


TO    KAUZEROON.  61 

when  caravans  and  great  men  with  a  reti- 
nue passed  them,  they  always  made  a  show 
of  activity  at  their  posts,  yet  they  were  quite 
as  ready  to  murder  solitary  travellers,  if  they 
resisted  their  insolent  demands  of  tribute  and 
presents,  as  they  were  to  offer  their  protection 
when  the  numbers  of  the  party  were  suffi- 
cient for  self-defence.  These  musketeers  are 
poor  villagers,  appointed  by  arbitrary  con- 
scription to  this  duty ;  and  as  their  nominal 
pay  is  not  enough  to  furnish  them  with 
bread  and  water,  and  even  this  is  often  with- 
held from  them  by  the  governor  of  the  dis- 
trict, who  has  the  charge  of  defraying  it  from 
his  treasury,  they  may  be  often  urged  by  ne- 
cessity to  do  that  which  by  inclination  they 
would  not  commit.  ^ 

*  The  mountaineers  who  lived  between  the  high  and  low 
lands  of  Persia  were  always  marauders.  The  following  is  the 
account  given  of  them  as  they  existed  in  the  time  of  Nadir 
Shah ;  but  though  the  historian  says  they  were  then  extin- 
guished, they  have  since  revived,  and  are  as  vigorous  and 
troublesome  as  ever. — *  The  peace  of  the  country  had  been  much 
disturbed  by  the  depredations  of  a  numerous  and  barbarous 
tribe,  called  Bukhteearees,  who  inhabit  the  mountains  that 
stretch  from  near  the  capital  of  Persia  to  the  vicinity  of  Shuster. 
The  subjugation  of  these  plunderers  had  ever  been  deemed 
impossible.  Their  lofty  and  rugged  mountains  abound  with 
rocks   and  caverns,  which  in  times  of  danger    serve  them   as 


62  FROM    SHIRAZ 

After  entering  on  the  plain,  we  went  about 
west-north-west  across  it,  having  trees  of  the 
kind  already  described  on  each  side  of  our 
path,  and  no  appearances  of  cultivation.  We 
were  now  about  three  fursucks  from  our  des- 
tined halt,  the  sun  was  nearly  set,  and  a  heavy 
storm  was  fast  gathering  in  the  west.  It  was 
no  sooner  dark  than  it  began  to  pour  down 
torrents  of  rain,  which  came  sometimes  in 
such  whirlwinds,  as  to  render  it  difficult 
to  keep  one's  seat  on  the  horse.  The  animals 
themselves  were  frightened  beyond  measure 
at  the  vivid  lightning  which  blazed  at  in- 
tervals from  the  thick  clouds,  and  if  possible 
still  more  terrified  at  the  deafening  echoes 
of  the  thunder,  which  rolled  through  the  sur- 
rounding cliffs  and  mountains.  Sometimes 
they  started  off  in  a  gallop,  and  at  others 
were  immovably  fixed ;  and  it  was  not  until 
after  three  full  hours  of  this  tempest  that  we 
came  near  Kauzeroon,  the  barking  of  its  dogs 

fastnesses  and  dens.  But  Nadir  showed  that  this  fancied  secu- 
rity, which  had  protected  them  for  ages,  was  a  mere  delusion. 
He  led  his  veteran  soldiers  to  the  tops  of  their  highest  moun- 
tains; parties  of  light  troops  hunted  them  from  the  cliffs  and 
glens  in  which  they  were  concealed ;  and  in  the  space  of  one 
month  the  tribe  was  completely  subdued.  Their  chief  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  put  to  death.' — Hist,  of  Persia,  vol.  ii.  p.  67, 


TO    KAUZEROON.  63 

giving  us  warning  of  approach  before  we  saw 
the  dwellings.  A  transient  gleam  of  light 
from  the  moon,  which  was  now  for  the  first 
time  visible  through  opening  clouds,  enabled 
us  to  perceive  the  town,  and  we  soon  after 
entered  its  ruined  walls.  Our  way  wound 
through  deserted  streets,  with  dilapidated 
dwellings,  and  isolated  arches  of  doors  and 
windows  on  each  side  of  us,  until  we  reached 
a  poor  caravansera,  where  we  gladly  took 
shelter.  Our  horses  were  so  knocked  up, 
that  they  lay  down,  saddled  as  they  were, 
and  without  waiting  for  their  food.  We  were 
ourselves  equally  fatigued,  and  wet  to  the 
skin,  without  a  dry  garment  at  hand.  As 
firewood,  however,  was  here  abundant  and 
cheap,  we  kindled  a  blazing  heap,  and  warm- 
ed and  dried  ourselves  in  the  smoke,  while 
a  cheering  pipe  and  a  cup  of  coffee  made  us 
soon  forget  the  troubles  of  our  way. 

A  day  or  two  after  my  arrival  at  Shiraz, 
I  had  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  British 
Resident  at  Bushire,  desiring  information  as 
to  what  vessels  might  be  at  that  port  destined 
for  Bombay,  and  the  probable  time  of  their 
sailing.  The  messenger  had  engaged  to  meet 
us  with  an  answer  at  Kauzeroon  ;  so  that  I 


64  FROM    SHIKA2: 

should  have  been  here  able  to  regulate  the 
remainder  of  my  journey  accordingly,  and 
either  hasten  on  to  be  in  time  for  an  imme- 
diate opportunity,  or,  by  returning  to  Shiraz, 
go  through  Fasa,  Darab,  and  Firouzabad  to 
Bushire,  and  arrive  in  time  for  any  later  one. 
I  was  so  confidently  assured,  before  I  quitted 
Shiraz,  of  there  being  no  vessel  either  then 
at  Bushire,  or  soon  expected  there,  that  I 
had  resolved  on  accomplishing  this  latter 
journey,  in  which  I  felt  much  interested,  and 
had  therefore  left  my  own  horses  and  bag- 
gage with  my  friend  Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  at 
Shiraz,  and  accepted  the  offer  of  his  animals 
for  this  journey  as  far  as  Shapoor,  from  which 
he  was  so  certain  that  I  should  return. 

Late  as  the  hour  of  our  arrival  was,  we 
sent  immediately  for  a  certain  Nour  Moham- 
med, to  whom  an  Armenian  of  Shiraz  had 
given  us  a  letter ;  and  as  this  man  was  also 
in  the  service  of  the  English  Resident  at 
Bushire,  we  made  no  scruple  of  explaining 
to  him  who  we  were.  On  enquiry,  we  learnt 
from  him  that  though  no  vessel  from  Bom- 
bay was  actually  at  the  port,  one  was  daily 
expected  from  Bussorah  to  touch  there  on 
her  way  down.     To  profit  by  this,  it  would 


TO    KAUZEROON.  65 

be  necessary  to  use  all  possible  dispatch  ;  and 
nothing  remained,  therefore,  but  to  procure 
a  messenger  for  Shiraz,  and  send  him  off,  as 
soon  as  our  horses  had  reposed,  to  return 
those  of  Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  and  bring  down 
mine,  with  the  things  left  at  Shiraz.  The 
messenger  was  speedily  procured  for  us  by 
Nour  Mohammed  ;  and,  wet,  tired,  and  sleepy 
as  I  was,  I  wrote  a  long  letter  to  my  friend, 
and  gave  it  in  charge  to  the  horseman,  who 
was  to  commence  his  journey  at  day-break 
in  the  morning,  armed  with  our  own  weapons 
for  his  defence. 

Nov.  3rd. — We  were  waited  on  by  Nour 
Mohammed  at  an  early  hour,  as  we  had  slept 
in  the  caravansera ;  and  as  soon  as  the  mes- 
senger had  been  dispatched  to  Shiraz,  we 
repaired  to  one  of  the  baths  of  Kauzeroon. 
It  was  small  and  dark,  but  of  exactly  the 
same  plan  as  all  those  we  had  seen  in  Persia, 
and  more  highly  heated  than  any.  The  at- 
tendants, too,  were  more  skilful  in  their  duty 
than  even  those  of  the  best  baths  at  Shiraz 
and  Ispahan  ;  and  in  their  method  of  mould- 
ing the  limbs  and  muscles,  approached  nearly 
to  the  Turks.  This  was  a  very  striking  dif- 
ference, for  which  I  could  learn  no  satisfac- 

VOL.    II.  F 


il 


66 


IROM    SHIRAZ 


tory  reason,  but  it  was  one  of  great  gratifica- 
tion to  myself. 

From  the  bath  we  went  to  a  house  which 
was  said  to  be  one  appropriated  to  the  use 
of  such  English  travellers  as  might  pass  that 
way,  and,  as  I  understood,  was  set  apart  for 
that  purpose  by  the  same  Nour  Mohammed, 
who  called  himself  the  slave  of  our  nation, 
and  swore  a  hundred  vows  of  devotion  and 
fidelity  to  all  our  race.    As  he  had  not  before 
seen  one  exactly  of  my  description  dressed 
as  an  Arab,  and  with  a  humble  Dervish  for 
his  companion,  he  thought  it  best,  however, 
to  name  me  to  all  others  as  Hadjee  Abdallah, 
the  only  appellation  he  had  yet  heard,  and  to 
follow  it  up  by  the  assertion  of  my  being  an 
Egyptian  Arab  recommended  to  him  by  a 
friend.     We  found  here  an  excellent  break- 
fast  in   the    manner    of   the    country,    and 
several  of  Nour  Mohammed's  acquaintances 
partook  of  it  with  us.     This,  and  the  length- 
ened enquiries  and  replies  which  naturally  fol- 
lowed, detained  us  until  past  noon,  before  the 
company  separated.     An  offer  was  then  made 
to  us  of  the  use  of  this  house  during  the 
time  we  halted  here  for  the  arrival  of  our 
horses  from  Shiraz,  or,  if  we  preferred  a  situ- 


TO    KAUZEROON.  67 

ation  more  airy  and  detached  from  the  town, 
the  house  and  garden  of  the  Governor,  which 
he  only  occupied,  or  visited  occasionally,  dur- 
ing the  heats  of  summer.     We  accepted  this 
last  with  great  readiness,  and  were  repairing 
thither  when  we  met  the  messenger  dispatched 
from   Shiraz  to  Bushire,  just  six  days  since. 
I  asked  him,  with  anxiety,  for  the  answer  to 
my  letter,  as  the  time  for  his  return  here  had 
fully  expired  ;  but  was  mortified  to  learn  that 
he  had  not  yet  gone  beyond  this  on  his  way. 
It  appeared  that  the  Armenians,  after  engag- 
ing this  man  at  my  expense,  had  detained  him 
three  days  at  Shiraz,  to  collect  the  letters  of 
others  at  a  stipulated  price,  of  which  the  mes- 
senger himself  showed  me  a  large  packet :  he 
gave  us  to  understand,  at  the  same  time,  that 
he  was  not  engaged  by  them  to  convey  my 
letter  only,  but  considered  himself  as  their  ser- 
vant, and  thought  the  answer  to  be  brought 
here  to  Kauzeroon  was  on  their  account  also. 
This  deceitful  conduct  of  the  Armenians  was 
so  like  what  I  had  seen  of  Eastern  Christians 
generally,  that  my  wonder  was  less  than  my 
disappointment.      There  was   however  only 
one  remedy,  namely,  to  omit  paying  them  the 
sum  stipulated,  or  insist  on  its  being  refund- 

F   2 


68  FROM    SHIRAZ 

ed  if  paid.  It  was  now  too  late,  however,  to 
expect  an  answer  from  Bushire  before  we 
should  be  ready  to  set  out  from  hence ;  and 
I  accordingly  took  from  the  first  messenger 
the  original  letter,  and  sent  a  second  to  Shi- 
raz,  expressing  my  hope  of  being  there  in  a 
few  days  at  farthest. 

We  proceeded  to  the  garden,  which  is  seated 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the 
town,  and  found  there  a  most  agreeable 
retreat.  The  accommodation  consisted  of  a 
small  upper  room  facing  the  garden,  and  an 
open  balcony  looking  towards  the  town,  with 
galleries,  and  a  terrace  above.  The  garden 
itself  was  spacious  and  agreeable,  and  con- 
tained combinations  not  usually  seen  on  the 
same  soil;  for  we  had  long  alleys  of  large 
orange  trees,  whose  spreading  branches  com- 
pletely over-canopied  the  walks  ;  and  the  date 
and  the  cypress,  both  in  full  perfection,  flou- 
xishing  close  by  each  other. 

The  state  of  the  air,  too,  was  at  this  season 
as  agreeable  as  it  was  possible  to  desire.  There 
was  a  softness  in  it  equal  to  that  of  an  Italian 
autumn  or  the  summer  evenings  of  Greece, 
and  a  freshness  not  inferior  to  that  of  our 
own  early  spring.     The  storm  that  had  burst 


TO    KAUZEROON.  69 

on  us  but  the  preceding  evening,  had  purified 
the  atmosphere;  and  every  tree,  and  bush, 
and  blade  of  verdure,  breathed  forth  a  per- 
fume,  which  at  once  delighted  the  senses  and 
invigorated  and  expanded  the  mind.  The 
heats  of  summer  would  seem,  however,  to  be 
most  oppressive  here,  judging  from  the  in- 
scriptions of  some  Indian  invalids,  who  had 
come  by  this  road  into  Persia  for  the  recovery 
of  their  health  ;  for,  on  the  walls  of  the  upper 
chamber,  the  state  of  the  thermometer  was 
marked  in  different  months  ;  one  of  which 
made  it  101°  at  5  p.m.  in  July  1815,  and  ano- 
ther at  104°  and  106°  in  August  1816. 

The  house  and  garden  in  which  we  were 
thus  happily  lodged,  belonged  to  the  reigning 
Governor  of  the  town,  called  Kazim  Khan  ; 
and,  like  his  permanent  residence,  it  was  of 
course  transferable  to  his  successors,  as  long 
as  it  might  exist.  A  few  servants  were  left 
in  charge  of  it,  merely  to^  keep  it  in  order  ; 
and  these  were  permitted  to  admit  strangers, 
either  as  visitors  or  sojourners,  for  a  few  days, 
since  the  presents  they  received  from  such, 
formed  their  only  pay. 

This  garden  was  first  made  by  a  certain 
Imam  Kooli  Khan,  who  was  Governor  of  Kau- 


70  FROM    SHIRAZ 

zeroon  about  fifteen  years  since;  and  from 
the  then  more  flourishing  state  of  the  place, 
he  lived  in  greater  state  and  splendour  than 
his  successors  have  been  able  to  do.  His  post 
was  filled,  after  his  death,  by  his  son  Moham- 
med Kooli  Khan,  who,  said  our  informer,  was 
then  young  and  in  the  very  blossom  of  life, 
when  the  passions  are  opening,  and  warmly 
susceptible  of  the  seductive  influence  of  plea- 
sure. As  this  young  man  had  come  suddenly 
into  the  possession  of  both  wealth  and  power, 
he  gave  loose  to  his  desires,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  horses,  servants,  and  slaves  in 
public,  and  by  numbers  of  the  most  beautiful 
women  in  the  privacy  of  his  harem. 

A  Dervish,  whose  name  is  not  remembered 
here,  happening  to  come  this  way  from  Bok- 
hara and  Sam^arcand,  paid  his  morning  visit 
to  the  Khan,  as  these  men  are  privileged  to 
do,  without  ceremony.  In  the  conversation 
which  arose  between  them,  the  Dervish,  who 
it  is  said  was  a  native  of  Upper  India,  from 
the  district  between  Delhi  and  Caubul,  ex- 
plained to  him,  in  the  language  of  our  nar- 
rator, some  of  the  beauties  of  philosophy 
and  the  consolations  of  self-denial,  and  very 
powerfully  contrasted  them  with  the  useless 


I 


TO    KAUZEROON.  71 

and  unmeaning  splendour  of  state,  which  ne- 
ver failed  to  bring  with  it  a  train  of  vexations 
and  disappointments.     The  effect  of  his  dis- 
course was    said   to   be    so   instantaneously  • 
convincing,  that  the  young  chief  arose  from 
his  seat  of  state,  resigned  his  government  to 
another,  and  made  a  solemn  vow  of  poverty 
and  piety  before  God  and  the  whole  assem- 
bly, and  became  from  thence  the  humble  dis- 
ciple of  this  hitherto  unknown  philosopher. 
After  following  him  to  Bagdad  on  foot,  they 
remained   together  some  time  in  that  city, 
when    the  master    died.     The  disciple  still 
continued,  however,  to  divide  his  time  be- 
tween  the   tombs  of  Imam  Ali  and  Imam 
Hossein,  at   both  of  which  places  my  Der- 
vish, Ismael,  remembered  to  have  seen  and 
conversed  with  him,  though  he  did  not  then 
know  his  history. 

He  at  length  returned  into  Persia,  and 
was  now  at  Shiraz,  where  he  still  led  a  life 
of  seclusion  and  contemplation,  and  had 
never  once  been  known  to  express  a  regret 
for  the  abandonment  of  his  former  honours, 
or  a  wish  to  return  again  to  the  pleasures  of 
the  world. 

This  history,  which  was  related  to  us  by 


7^  fROM    SHIRAN 

a  Persian  of  Kauzeroon,  gave  rise  to  a  long 
and  warm  conversation  between  myself  and 
my  Dervish,  on  the  merit  of  the  young  Imam  ; 
and  I  must  do  my  companion  the  justice  to 
say,  that  though  he  set  out  with  the  warm- 
est admiration  of  this  man's  abandonment  of 
wealth  and  power  for  poverty  and  insignifi- 
cance, yet    he  at  length  confessed   his  con- 
version to  my  opinion,  that,  as  a  rich  man, 
he  might  have  done  better  by  retaining  his 
place,  and,  under  his  new  convictions,  exer- 
cising his  power  in  doing  good. 

The  discourse  which  followed  this,  on  the 
various  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  many 
sects  of  Soofees  which  exist  in  Persia  and  the 
countries  east  of  it,  detained  us  until  we  were 
summoned  to  the  prayer  of  sunset  by  one  of 
the  clearest  and  most  melodious  voices  that 
I  had  for  a  long  time  heard,  issuing  from  the 
terrace  of  one  of  the  mosques  in  Kauzeroon 
The  evening  air  was  calm,  every  other  sound 
was  still,   and   Nature  herself  seemed  sunk 
into  an  early  repose,  which  heightened  the 
effect  of  the  holy  summons.     It  reminded 
me  very  powerfully  of  a  similar  combination 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  when,  in  an  evening 
of  equal  serenity,  I  was  so   much  charmed 


« 


TO    KAUZEROON.  7^ 

with  the  beautiful  and  impressive  sounds 
of  a  Muezzin's  voice  echoing  from  the  ma- 
jestic ruins  of  the  deserted  Thebes,  and  call- 
ing men  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God  from 
amid  the  wreck  of  the  fallen  temples  of  ido- 
latry. 

Nov.  4th. — We  passed  a  morning  of  great 
pleasure  in  the  garden,  and  partook  of  a 
breakfast,  brought  us  from  the  town,  in  a 
comfortable  apartment  of  an  unfurnished 
building  at  the  bottom  of  it. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  day,  we  pro- 
fited by  our  detention  here,  to  see  somewhat 
more  of  the  town  than  we  could  have  done 
by  a  mere  passage  through  it.  This  task, 
however,  occupied  more  of  our  time  than 
was  agreeable  to  me  ;  and  at  last  we  returned 
from  our  ramble,  without  being  much  grati- 
fied with  the  pictures  of  ruin,  desolation, 
poverty,  and  seeming  discontent  that  met  us 
at  every  step. 

The  town  of  Kauzeroon  is  thought  by  its 
present  inhabitants  to  have  been  once  so 
large  as  to  have  extended  for  several  fur- 
sucks  in  length  ;  but  of  this  they  offer  no 
satisfactory  proofs.  It  may  however  have 
been    once    nearly  double    its    present    size, 


74  FROM    SHIRAZ 

as  vestiges   of  ruined  buildings  are  seen  on 
each  side,  beyond  its  present  limits. 

Its  situation  is  in  a  valley  of  considerable 
length  from  north   to  south,  but  not  more 
than  five  miles  in  general  breadth  from  east 
to  west.     The  town  lies  almost  at  the  foot 
of  the  eastern  boundary,  which  is  a  range  of 
lime-stone  mountains,  broken  into  cliffs  above, 
and  smaller  heaps  below  ;   and  thus  differ- 
ing from  its  opposite  one,  the  western  range, 
which  is  more  lofty,  of  an  exceedingly  steep 
slope,  and  mostly  unbroken.     The  greatest 
length  of  the  town,  from  north  to  south,  is 
about  a  mile,  and  its  breadth  from  east  to 
west,  somewhat  less.     Even  this  space,  how- 
ever,   contains    more   ruined    and    deserted 
dwellings    than  inhabited   ones ;    and   these 
last   are   generally   much  inferior    to    what 
the  destroyed  ones  once  were.      There  are 
some  vestiges  of  a  wall  with  round  towers 
in  some  places,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  deter- 
mine whether  they  are  portions  of  an  enclo- 
sure to  the  whole,  or  parts  only  of  some  fort 
within  the  town. 

The    residence   of  the   governor,    Kazim 
Khan,  is  the  best  and  only  conspicuous  edi- 


TO    KAUZEROON.  75 

fice  among  the  whole  ;  and  this  has  little 
remarkable  except  the  two  square  towers, 
called  baudgheers,  like  those  at  Shiraz,  which 
serve  as  wind-sails  to  convey  air  to  the  lower 
part  of  the  house. 

There  are,  besides,  five  mosques,  five  cara- 
vanseras,  seven  tombs  of  different  holy  men, 
mostly  with  small  domes  over  them,  and 
two  small  baths.  The  houses  are  built  of 
unhewn  stone,  rudely  placed  in  mortar,  and 
the  exterior  plastered  over  with  lime,  which 
is  abundant  here.  Some  of  the  older  build- 
ings were,  however,  of  unburnt  bricks ;  and 
there  are  among  the  ruins  a  number  of  sheds, 
simply  matted  over,  and  used  as  halts  for 
passengers  to  smoke  their  nargeels,  and  re- 
fresh themselves  on  the  way. 

The  cultivated  land  about  the  town  ap- 
pears insufficient  to  support  even  the  few 
inhabitants  here  :  horses,  camels,  sheep,  and 
goats,  find,  however,  a  scanty  pasture  on  the 
plain ;  and  a  few  date-trees  are  the  only 
productions  of  food  for  man.  Water  is  said 
to  be,  in  general,  scarce  here,  though  there 
are  three  or  four  separate  springs  which 
supply  the  town.     That  of  which  we  drank 


76^  FROM    SHIRAZ 

was  pure  and  wholesome,  and  more  agreeable 
to  the  taste  than  the  water  of  Shiraz. 

The  population  of  Kauzeroon  is  estimated 
at  about  six  hundred  Moslem  families,  all 
Sheeahs,  and  forty  Jewish  ones,  who  are 
still  more  poor  and  wretched  than  the  rest. 
It  is  difficult  indeed  to  describe  how  this  race 
is  despised,  oppressed,  and  insulted,  through- 
out all  Persia  ;  their  touch  being  thought 
so  unclean,  as  to  render  complete  purifica- 
tion necessary  on  the  part  of  the  defiled.  The 
few  Jews  here  live  as  pedlars,  and  go  in 
little  parties  on  foot,  carrying  their  loads  of 
Indian  spices  on  their  backs,  between  Bu- 
shire  and  Shiraz.  The  principal  occupation 
of  the  more  wealthy  Moslems  is  the  pur- 
chase and  sale  of  horses  for  the  Indian  mar- 
ket, and  raising  a  cross-breed  between  the 
Turcoman  and  Arab  race,  which  are  called, 
from  the  name  of  the  place,  Kauzerooni,  and 
are  celebrated  for  their  excellence  as  jour- 
neying, or  road  horses,  but  are  inferior  to 
the  Arab  in  beauty,  and  to  the  Turcoman 
in  strength.  The  lower  orders  of  the  people 
live  by  their  humble  labours ;  but  among 
them  there  is  no  manufacture,  except  a  par- 


TO    KAUZEROON.  77 

ticular  kind  of  shoes  made  of  plaited  cotton, 
almost  in  the  same  way  as  ladies'  straw-bon- 
nets are  made  in  Europe,  and  admirably 
adapted  for  strength  and  comfort  to  the 
wearer.  These  are  made  also  in  other  parts 
of  Persia,  but  are  nowhere  so  good  as  here. 


CHAPTER  III. 

VISIT  TO  THE  RUINS  OF  SHAPOOR,  AND  JOURNEY 
FROM  THENCE   TO  BUSHIRE. 


Nov.  6th. — We  quitted  Kauzeroon  about 
an  hour  before  daylight,  and  going  nearly 
north-west  across  a  plain,  with  thorny  bushes 
on  it,  came  soon  after  sun-rise  to  the  village 
of  Dereez  ;  which,  like  the  town  we  had 
quitted,  presented  more  ruined  dwellings 
than  inhabited  ones. 

After  a  short  stay  here  to  procure  a  guide, 
we  set  out  for  Shapoor,  going  in  a  northern 
direction  into  a  lower  plain,  covered  with 
fertile  soil,  and  abundantly  watered,  but 
being  now  mostly  spread  over  with  thorny 
trees  and  wild  verdure.  We  saw  here  some 
groups  of  shepherd  families  living  in  the 
bushes,  for  their  dwellings  scarcely  deserved 


CHAPTER  III. 


TOWN  OF  KAUZEROON  AT  THE  FOOT  OF  A  RANGE  OF  HILLS. 


Piih14sho/l  I..  Ho.,.'v  r,.ii...>..    0  xr>..  n...i 


HUINS    OF    SHArOOU.  79 

the  names  of  tents,  and  they  were  altogether 
among  the  poorest  and  most  destitute  of  all 
the  pastoral  tribes  that  I  had  ever  seen. 

In  about  an  hour  we  came  close  under  the 
foot  of  the  eastern  hills  which  bound  the 
plain,  and  passed  on  our  left  two  branches  of 
the  river  Sasoon,  which  were  called  respec- 
tively Reza-abad,  and  Khoda-abad,  lying  close 
to  each  other,  and  afterwards  winding  in  dif- 
ferent directions  through  the  plain.  Above 
us,  on  the  eastern  hill,  were  the  ruins  of  a 
castle,  called  Khallah  Dokhter,  very  poorly 
built,  of  unhewn  stone  and  mortar,  and  from 
its  form  apparently  a  recent  Mohammedan 
work ;  but  such  portions  of  arches  as  re- 
mained in  the  lower  part,  though  built,  like 
the  rest  of  the  edifice,  of  these  rude  stones, 
were  rather  of  the  semicircular  than  pointed 
kind,  though  not  strictly  either.  Below  this 
castle  was  an  extensive  space,  stretching 
westward  from  the  foot  of  the  hills,  spread 
over  with  heaps  of  ruins,  among  which  no 
one  perfect  edifice  remained.  These  were 
all  built  of  unhewn  stones,  and  were  humble 
private  dwellings,  to  which  no  fixed  date 
could  be  assigned. 

After  going  over  these  heaps,  we  came  to  a 


80 


VISIT    TO    THE 


bend  of  the  river  Sasoon,  which  flowed  full 
and  rapidly  from  the  eastward  in  a  deep  bed, 
so  thickly  bordered  with  wild  shrubs,  trees, 
and  tall  rushes,  of  twenty  feet  high,  that 
though  we  heard  the  loud  noise  of  the  cur- 
rent, we  could  not  through  these  obstacles 
distinguish  its  stream: 

A  few  paces  afterwards,  we  made  a  short 
turn  round  to  the  eastward,  and  came  into 
a  pass  of  about  a  furlong  wide,  called  Teng- 
e-Chikoon.  The  highest  part  of  the  perpen- 
dicular cliffs  on  each  side  was  nearly  three 
hundred  feet,  and  the  southern  one  was  di- 
rectly at  the  back  of  the  castle  we  had  seen, 
which  was  no  doubt  constructed  expressly  to 
guard  this  pass.  This  led  into  a  small  round 
valley  to  the  eastward  of  it,  through  which 
the  river  Sasoon  flowed  down,  between  banks 
covered  with  rushes. 

On  going  through  this  pass,  on  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  stream,  we  came  first  to  a 
large  tablet  in  the  cliff,  the  sculpture  of  which 
was  inuch  injured  by  the  decomposition  of 
the  rock.  As  far  as  we  could  trace  it,  it  re- 
presented two  chiefs  on  horseback,  meeting 
each  other,  the  right-hand  one  having  his 
horse's  feet  placed  on  a  dead  body  extended 


EUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  81 

horizontally  beneath,  and  before  him  a  figure 
on  foot,  apparently  in  an  attitude  of  suppli- 
cation. These  figures  were  about  the  size  of 
life,  in  tolerably  full  relief,  and  appeared  to 
have  been  finely  executed,  but  were  consider- 
ably injured. 

A  few  paces  beyona  this,  still  on  the  same 
side  of  the  stream,  and  in  the  southern  clifF, 
but  much  higher  up  from  the  common  level 
of  the  pass,  we  came  to  a  larger  tablet,  filled 
with  a  greater  number  of  figures,  and  divided 
into  separate  compartments. 

In  the  central  compartment  a  chief  was  seen 
on  horseback,  having  bushy  hair  and  flying 
ribands  from  behind,  and  an  egg -like  globe, 
standing  with  its  smaller  end  on  a  Norman 
crown,  as  seen  on  the  Sassanian  medals.  His 
own  dress  was  flowing  in  multiplied  folds ; 
but  the  caparison  of  his  horse  was  simple,  the 
bridle  of  the  kind  used  in  the  present  day, 
and  a  breast-piece  formed  of  plates  of  metal. 
By  his  right  side  was  a  quiver  for  arrows, 
though  no  other  weapon  was  visible.  Beneath 
the  feet  of  his  horse,  a  figure  was  seen  ex- 
tended horizontally,  as  if  dead :  another  was 
in  the  act  of  supplication  by  kneeling,  and  ex- 
tending his  clasped  hands  before  him  ;  and  a 

VOL.    II.  G 


82  VISIT    TO    THE 

third  he  held  in  his  right  hand,  as  if  to  pre- 
sent him  to  the  supplicator.  These  were  all 
three  in  the  dresses  of  Roman  soldiers, — a 
short  tunic  or  shirt,  extending  only  to  the 
knees,  a  mantle  clasped  over  the  right  shoul- 
der, and  a  straight  sword  hanging  in  a  belt 
on  the  left  side.  Neither  beards  nor  mus- 
tachios  were  worn  by  either,  and  only  a  small 
portion  of  short  curly  hair  was  seen  beneath 
a  smooth  cap,  that  fitted  close  to  the  skull, 
and  was  filleted  round  by  a  thick  ring,  as  the 
Bedouin  Arabs  fasten  their  kefFeahs  in  the 
Desert.  This  was  a  deviation  from  Roman 
costume,  as  well  as  the  plain  rings  or  anklets 
which  were  seen  on  their  feet.  Behind  the 
supplicating  figure,  were  two  soldiers  stand- 
ing ;  the  first  presenting  the  supplicator,  and 
the  second  extending  his  clasped  hands  to  im- 
plore for  him  also.  The  dresses  of  these  were 
somewhat  different;  for,  though  they  had  each 
the  short  tunic,  the  straight  sword,  and  a  man- 
tle clasped  before,  instead  of  on,  the  shoulder, 
they  had  high  helmets  bending  forward  at 
the  top,  of  the  oldest  Grecian  form  ;  the  style 
of  countenance  was  also  different  from  the 
three  others  described,  and  they  had  musta- 
chios,  but  no  beards.     Above  the  head  of  the 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOTJ.  83 

chief's  horse,  and  hovering  at  the  same  time 
over  the  supplicator,  was  seen  a  winged  ge- 
nius, presenting  something,  with  two  broad 
flying  ribands  extending  from  each  end  ;  and, 
between  the  head  of  the  horse  and  the  sup- 
plicator, was  an  inscription,  written  sideways, 
in  Sassanian  characters. 

In  the  upper  left  compartment  are  six  men 
on  horseback,  having  close,  straight,  and  high 
caps,  not  unlike  that  of  the  Delhi  horsemen 
of  Turkey,  but  somewhat  lower,  and  round- 
ed instead  of  flat  at  the  top.  These  have 
short  straight  hair,  short  close  beards,  neatly 
trimmed,  smooth  at  their  edge  on  the  cheek, 
in  the  manner  of  the  Turks,  and  all  hold  up 
their  right  arms,  and  extend  their  fore-finger 
upwards. 

In  the  compartment  below  this,  are  six 
other  horsemen,  in  exactly  the  same  dress 
and  the  same  attitude  ;  but  these  have  the 
bushy  hair  of  their  chief,  and  were,  perhaps, 
more  distinguished  guards,  as  there  is  only 
this  difference  between  them  and  the  others. 

In  the  first  upper  compartment  on  the 
right  are  three  men  on  foot,  each  holding  a 
standard.  Their  dresses  are  simply  a  short 
shirt,  girded  round  the  waist,  and  they  have 

G  2 


84  VISIT    TO    THE 

no  arms  whatever.  The  first  has  bushy  hair, 
a  long  sharp  beard,  and  a  high  pointed  bon- 
net ;  the  second  has  short  curly  hair,  with  a 
very  small  bush  behind,  and  no  beard,  nor  any 
covering  on  his  head ;  the  third,  who  holds 
his  standard  with  both  hands,  and  is  standing 
at  ease,  has  long  curly  hair,  and  a  high  bon- 
net, which  falls  behind  at  the  point,  like  the 
cap  of  liberty.     These  two  have  anklets  also. 

In  the  next  compartment  to  this,  are  three 
men  on  foot,  with  short  dresses,  and  long 
straight  sw  ords  :  these  have  mustachios  only  ; 
their  heads  are  high  and  narrow  at  the  top, 
and  their  hair  is  cut,  trimmed,  and  plaited 
in  the  form  of  a  Welsh  wig.  What  they 
hold  in  their  right  hands  is  not  distinctly 
seen  ;  and  two  of  them  seem  to  have  scrolls 
of  paper  in  their  left.  These  wear  loose  trow- 
sers  beneath  their  shirts,  and  no  neckcloths. 
They  follow  each  other  closely,  standing  in 
a  firm  attitude,  and  the  style  of  their  heads 
and  countenances  is  quite  peculiar.  The 
next  compartment  appears  never  to  have 
been  sculptured  at  all. 

The  first  lower  compartment  on  the  right 
contains  three  men  on  foot,  with  short  shirts, 
trowsers,  and  sandals,  without  beards  or  mus- 


IIUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  85 

tachios,  and  helmets  fitting  close  to  the  brow 
and  skull,  and  falling  broad  over  the  neck 
and  shoulders.  The  first  of  these  holds  some- 
thing in  his  right  hand,  in  the  act  of  present- 
ing it,  but  it  is  not  distinct :  the  other  two 
have  short  spears  in  theirs,  and  each  has  a 
long  straight  sword,  with  a  most  dispropor- 
tionately long  handle. 

The  next  compartment,  following  still  to 
the  right,  contains  three  men  on  foot,  with 
short  shirts,  girded  around  the  waist  by  cords, 
neatly  knotted  before,  in  a  peculiar  way,  and 
loose  flowing  trowsers.  These  have  musta- 
chios  only,  short  hair,  with  a  small  bush  of 
curls  behind,  and  are  without  any  covering 
for  the  head.  The  first  holds  in  his  right 
hand  a  ring,  with  his  arm  extended  in  a  right 
angle  with  his  body  ;  the  second  rests  his  left 
hand  on  his  waist ;  and  the  third  seems  to 
hold  a  scroll  in  his  extended  right  hand. 

The  last  compartment  contains  a  repetition 
of  the  last  three  figures,  whose  short  shirts 
are  girded  with  cords  in  the  same  way  as  the 
former,  but  are  curved  upward  at  the  bot- 
tom, while  the  others  are  straight,  and  hem- 
med or  bordered.  Their  trowsers.  are  the 
same ;  and,  like  the  former  figures,  these  are 


86 


VISIT    TO    THE 


unarmed.  The  first  holds  up,  between  both 
his  hands,  something  in  the  shape  of  a  brick 
or  hewn  stone  ;  the  second  bears  what  is  more 
like  a  hand-saw,  of  the  shape  still  used  in 
Persia,  than  any  thing  with  which  I  could 
compare  it ;  and  the  last  has  a  circular  ves- 
sel, like  a  very  large  globular  bottle,  with  a 
straight  neck.  These  two  last  compartijients 
may  possibly  be  meant  to  represent  unarmed 
artificers,  and  relate  to  the  founding  and 
building  of  the  city,  as  there  are  here  stones 
or  bricks,  water,  and  tools. 

The  figures  in  these  sculptures  are  all  as 
large  as  life,  and  in  little  less  than  half-relief. 
The  horses  are  very  fine ;  all  the  figures  are 
well  drawn,  in  good  proportions,  and  the  dif- 
ference of  feature,  style  of  countenance  and 
costume,  is  very  striking. 

From  hence  we  went  across  the  stream, 
which  was  narrow,  rapid,  and  deep  enough  to 
take  us  up  beyond  the  middle,  with  no  path 
for  our  horses ;  the  water  was  sweet,  and 
beautifully  transparent.  After  long  exertion 
we  made  a  path  through  the  thick  rushes, 
and  came  up  to  a  large  tablet,  in  which  were 
sculptured  two  colossal  figures  on  horseback, 
facing  each  other:  the  one  on  the  left  had 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  87 

simply  a  high  bush  of  curled  hair,  coming  up 
through  the  centre  of  a  plain  crown,  and  held 
in  his  right  hand  a  ring,  which  he  seemed 
to  offer  to  the  other.  The  one  on  the  right, 
which  appeared  in  other  respects  to  be  the 
principal  figure,  was  distinguished  by  the  ele- 
vated globe  rising  from  the  centre  of  a  radi- 
ated diadem,  and  in  his  right  hand  he  held 
a  flying  riband,  with  something  in  the  middle 
like  the  emblem  of  the  winged  genius,  on  the 
other  side ;  and  this  he  appeared  also  to  pre- 
sent to  the  other  horseman.  The  dresses  and 
general  style  of  the  whole  were  like  that  of 
the  chief  on  the  other  side ;  but  the  figures 
here  are  nearly  double  the  size  of  life,  and 
in  proportionately  full  relief.  Behind  the 
principal  hero  is  an  inscription  rudely  cut. 

Beneath  this  rock  ran  a  channel  for  water, 
probably  of  more  recent  date  ;  as  the  stream 
has  there  worn  away  the  bottom  of  the  sculp- 
ture. Some  Mohammedan  visitor  had  taken 
the  pains  to  inscribe  his  name  on  the  hard 
rock  between  the  heads  of  the  horses,  in  a 
way  that  must  have  cost  him  nearly  a  day  to 
perform  ;  but  there  was  no  date  to  it.  The 
tradition  of  the  people  here  is  that  both  the 
town  and  castle  were  destroyed  in  the  first 


88  VISIT    TO    THE 

ages  of  Mohammedism,  when  the  zeal  against 
infidels  was  at  its  highest. 

A  few  yards  east  of  this,  and  higher  up  in 
the  cliff,  is  a  large  tablet,  divided  into  five 
compartments.  In  the  central  one  above, 
and  fronting  the  spectator,  sits  the  principal 
personage,  whose  most  remarkable  distinction 
is  the  enormous  bushes  of  hair  on  each  side 
of  his  head,  and  on  the  top.  The  style  of 
it  is  exactly  in  the  fashion  used  to  this  day 
by  the  Samauli  negroes,  on  the  coast  of  Adel, 
near  the  entrance  of  the  Red  Sea.  With  his 
right  hand  he  leans  on  a  thick  staff  or  spear, 
and  his  left  is  placed  on  the  hilt  of  a  straight 
sword,  on  which  he  also  rests,  holding  it  per- 
pendicularly before  him.  The  seat  of  this 
chief  is  not  visible ;  but  he  uses  the  Euro- 
pean posture,  like  the  old  sitting  figures  at 
Thebes  and  Persepolis. 

In  the  left  upper  compartment  are  ten  or 
twelve  figures  in  different  costumes,  mostly 
like  those  on  the  other  side,  and,  as  far  as  I 
could  distinguish,  some  of  them  seemed  to 
be  presenting  other  persons  to  the  chief. 

In  the  upper  right  compartment  were 
about  the  same  number  of  figures,  in  the 
^ame  variety  of  dresses ;  but  the  design  was 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  SQ 

more  distinct,  as  here  guards  are  evidently 
bringing  in  prisoners,  some  of  whom  are 
bound,  others  have  their  arms  folded  in  an 
attitude  of  defiance,  and  others  again  are 
preparing  to  resist  the  force  used  to  push 
them  on,  though  they  are  unarmed. 

In  the  left-hand  lower  compartment  are 
an  equal  number  of  persons,  mostly  in  the 
same  dresses,  with  bushy  hair  and  long 
swords,  on  which  they  are  leaning  with  fold- 
ed arms.  At  the  head  of  them,  a  groom  with 
a  close  head-dress  of  a  different  kind  from 
any  of  the  others,  leads  a  small  horse,  which 
has  a  mattara,  or  leathern  water-bottle,  hang- 
ing by  its  side,  as  now  used  in  Persia,  and 
ready  for  the  journey. 

In  the  right-hand  lower  compartment  is, 
first,  an  executioner  presenting  in  each  hand 
a  dissevered  head  to  the  chief  above.  Be- 
hind him  stands  a  little  boy  holding  fast  by 
his  short  garment.  Next  follow  prisoners 
bound,  executioners  with  large  axes  of  a 
peculiar  shape,  others  bringing  vases,  and  a 
little  boy  riding  on  an  elephant,  of  excellent 
shape,  but  disproportionately  small  size. 

About  a  hundred  yards  north-west  of  this, 
in  the  same  cliff,  and  to  be  got  at  by  going 


90  VISIT    TO    THE 

along  the  channel  for  water  at  the  foot  of 
the  rock,  is  a  large  tablet,  excavated  in  a 
concave  form,  and  divided  into  seven  com- 
partments. 

In  the  first  division,  beginning  on  the 
upper  corner  on  the  left,  are  about  fifteen 
horsemen,  with  dresses  and  helmets  as  in.  the 
first  compartment  on  the  other  side,  each 
extending  their  right  arms,  and  holding  out 
their  fore-fingers. 

Opposite  to  this,  on  the  right,  comes,  first, 
one  who  holds  a  ring,  and  is  followed  by 
chiefs  and  men  of  distinction,  with  short 
loose  shirts  and  trowsers,  short  hair,  musta- 
chios,  and  bare  heads.  The  first  of  this  train 
holds  a  sceptre  or  mace,  and  has  a  wide  scarf 
flowing  from  behind  him ;  the  second  holds 
a  cup  ;  the  next,  a  sword;  the  two  next  are 
indistinct ;  the  one  following  has  the  egg- 
like emblem  of  the  king,  without  his  crown, 
held  horizontally  or  lengthwise  on  his  hand ; 
the  last  has  also  a  cup; — and  all  these  are  on 
foot.  In  the  second  compartment,  on  the 
left,  the  same  design  is  almost  exactly  re- 
peated,— the  parties,  however,  are  here  all 
on  horseback. 

Opposite  to  this,  on  the  right,  are  figures 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  91 

with  the  same  dresses  as  those  above,  except 
that  they  have  close  caps  on  their  heads, 
while  the  curly  heads  of  the  others  are  bare. 
The  first  of  these  figures  is  indistinct ;  the 
three  next,  by  crossing  their  spears  on  each 
other's  shoulders,  carry  on  them  a  bale 
packed  with  two  broad  bands  ;  the  next  car- 
ries on  his  back  a  bag  full  of  something;  the 
next  holds  a  basket  in  his  hand ;  and  the 
last  bears  a  long  package  on  his  head,  while 
a  lion  walks  beside  him.  This  must  evi- 
dently relate  to  the  bringing  in  of  spoils 
from  some  conquest. 

In  the  centime  of  a  long  compartment  below 
these,  spreading  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
tablet,  is  the  chief,  in  the  same  dress  as  be- 
fore, his  horse  treading  on  an  extended  body, 
a  suppliant  kneeling  before  him,  and  he 
holding  another  with  the  same  dress,  in  his 
right-hand.  It  is,  in  short,  a  perfect  minia- 
ture of  the  large  design  described  on  the 
other  side,  except  that  here,  instead  of  the 
attitudes  of  the  two  soldiers  standing  before, 
one  of  them,  in  a  Sassanian  dress,  is  present-^ 
ing  the  chief  with  a  ring  in  the  usual  way. 
Above  is  the  winged  genius,  but  I  could  per- 
ceive no  inscription.     Behind  them  are  men 


92  VISIT    TO    THE 

leading  a  mule,  to  judge  by  the  form  of  its 
tail ;  one  bearing  a  large  burthen  on  his  head, 
and  followed  by  another  riding  on  an  ele- 
phant ;  while  above  them,  in  the  same  com- 
partment, are  six  bareheaded  figures,  shroud- 
ed in  loose  drapery,  like  veils  or  mantles  hung 
before  them.  Behind  the  sovereign,  in  the 
left  of  the  same  compartment,  are  fifteen  or 
sixteen  horsemen,  the  first  five  of  which  only 
have  the  bushy  hair  of  the  chief;  and  as 
these  were  probably  officers,  it  confirms  the 
idea  of  this  being  a  mark  of  distinction. 

In  the  left-hand  compartment  below,  the 
same  design  of  horsemen  is  repeated, — the 
dresses  being  also  the  same,  and  the  hair  of 
all  the  figures  short  and  uncurled. 

In  the  right-hand  lower  compartment,  the 
first  figure  seems,  by  his  bare  head  and  long 
robes,  to  be  a  priest :  with  one  hand  he  leans 
on  a  staff,  with  the  other  he  holds  the  egg-like 
emblem  horizontally,  as  if  to  present  it  to  his 
sovereign.  Next  follows  one  in  the  same 
dress  and  the  same  attitude,  bearing  a  large 
vase.  After  this,  one  in  a  Roman  dress,  with 
the  short  shirt,  and  mantle  clasped  on  the 
right  shoulder,  bears  a  standard  in  his  right- 
hand,  and  with  his  left  holds  the  reins  of 


I 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  93 

two  horses,  or,  judging  by  their  long  ears, 
perhaps  very  handsome  mules,  who  draw  a 
chariot  of  three  stages,  with  small  but  broad 
round  wheels.  Over  the  heads  of  the  mules, 
another  figure,  also  bareheaded,  and  in  the 
same  Roman  dress,  holds  the  egg  horizon- 
tally in  both  hands,  extended  aloft  to  their 
full  stretch.  The  two  succeeding  figures  are 
much  broken,  but  seem  to  be  men  bearing 
small  heavy  sacks,  as  if  of  treasure,  on  their 
backs. 

The  figures  in  the  compartments  to  the 
right  of,  or  fronting  the  sovereign,  who  looks 
that  way,  are  all  on  foot,  except  the  driver  of 
the  elephant ;  and  on  the  other  side,  or  be- 
hind him,  they  are  all  on  horseback.^ 

A  Mohammedan  visitor  had  here  also 
sculptured  some  Arabic  inscriptions.  The 
figures  of  this  tablet  are  small,  but  in  full 
relief,  and  of  more  finished  execution  than 
any  of  the  other  side. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west-south-west 
of  this,  and  among  heaps  of  ruined  dwellings, 

*  Sapor,  or  Shahpoor,  the  Sassanian  monarch  from  whom 
this  city  was  named,  was  conducted  to  Antioch  by  a  Pageant 
Emperor  of  his  election,  who  wore  the  purple  of  the  Ceesars. — 
History  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  98. 


94  VISIT    TO    THE 

are  the  remains  of  a  small  square  edifice, 
which  was  probably  a  temple  of  worship,  as 
it  consisted  of  only  one  apartment.  It  is  not 
more  than  fifty  feet  square,  and  faced  north- 
north-west  and  south-south-east.  It  is  deep 
in  the  inside  beyond  the  common  level,  and 
is  filled  with  green  bushes.  The  north-north- 
west wall  is  standing,  and  would  seem  to  be 
the  front ;  but  there  is  a  great  peculiarity  in 
it,  as  there  is  no  door  of  entrance  in  this, 
nor  the  mark  of  one  in  any  other  of  the 
sides.  It  has  an  arched  window  cut  in  a 
single  stone,  and  this  not  placed  in  the  centre 
of  the  building.  On  the  top  are  the  muti- 
lated bodies  of  four  sphynxes,  which  face 
inward  to  the  edifice ;  so  that  it  would  seem 
from  this,  not  to  have  been  roofed  originally. 
The  stones  are  large,  well  hewn,  extremely 
regular  in  shape,  which  is  an  oblong  square, 
and  joined  with  much  greater  skill  than  those 
in  the  platform  of  Persepolis,  though,  from 
being  a  soft  lime-stone,  the  edges  are  more 
worn  and  rounded.  The  walls  are  about 
fifteen  feet  thick :  the  space  between  the 
inner  and  outer  facing  being  filled  up  with 
unhewn  stones,  imbedded  in  lime  ;  and  this, 
as  a  piece  of  masonry,  is  quite  equal  to  Ro- 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  95 

man  works  in  general.  This  place  is  called 
Ser-a-goh,  or  the  cow's  head,  from  the  sup- 
posed resemblance  of  the  sphynxes  to  cows. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south- 
west of  this,  going  through  heaps  of  ruined 
dwellings,  all  of  a  common  kind,  we  found 
a  large  square  enclosure,  called  the  Mesjid, 
or  Mosque.  The  interior  of  the  open  space 
presented  two  portions  of  wall  belonging  to 
some  small  edifice  of  ancient  date,  the  plan  of 
which  could  not  be  traced.  It  had  since  been 
built  on  by  more  modern  and  inferior  works. 
Close  to  this  were  the  fragments  of  two  pil- 
lars ;  the  shafts  of  which  were  plain,  formed 
of  many  small  divisions,  and  about  three  feet 
in  diameter,  but  no  capitals  were  near.  The 
exterior  wall  of  this  enclosure  was  of  very 
inferior  masonry  ;  and  from  loop-holes  in  the 
top,  and  the  appearance  of  a  parapet  there,  it 
seemed  to  have  been  once  used  as  a  fort.  Its 
dimensions  were  about  a  hundred  feet  square. 
There  was  near  this  the  domed  sepulchre  of 
an  Imam  Zade,  whose  name  we  did  not  learn  ; 
and  among  the  tombs  of  those  around  it  were 
some  of  five,  and  others  of  three  hundred 
years  old,  the  inscriptions  of  which  were  in 
Arabic.     The  dead  were  called  by  our  com- 


96         '  VISIT    TO    THE 

panions  'Shapoori,'  or  natives  of  Shapoor. 
This,  however,  throws  no  light  on  the  latest 
date  to  which  the  city  itself  existed,  as  the 
people  inhabiting  the  plain  are  still  called 
Shapoori,  and  are  still  interred  near  the  tomb 
of  this  revered  saint.* 

We  went  from  hence  to  gain  the  main  road 
by  striking  across  the  cultivated  land  in  a 
south-easterly  direction,  and  our  way  was  full 
of  difficulties  from  the  canals  and  bushes 
which  impeded  it.  We  were  in  some  degree 
rewarded  by  being  thrown  on  two  small  fire 
altars,  which  lay  detached  from  every  other 
portion  of  ruin,  and  bore  exactly  south-east, 
distant  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
supposed  fort  that  we  had  left. 

These  were  of  the  same  semi-pyramidal 
shape  as  the  ones  hewn  in  the  rock  near  Per- 

*  In  the  reign  of  Baharam,  the  son  of  Hoormuz,  and  grand- 
son of  Shahpoor,  the  city  of  this  name  appears  to  have  been 
the  capital  of  the  empire.  It  was  then  that  the  celebrated  Mani, 
the  founder  of  the  sect  of  the  Manicheans,  flourished  ;  and  in  a 
book  called  Ertang,  he  endeavoured  to  reconcile  the  doctrines 
of  the  Metempsychosis,  as  taught  by  the  Hindoos,  and  the  two 
principles  of  Good  and  Evil  of  Zoroaster,  with  the  tenets  of  the 
Christian  religion.  He  returned  to  a  cavern,  after  the  fashion 
of  impostors,  and  brought  out  from  thence  paintings  and  writ- 
ings, which  he  pretended  to  have  received  from  Heaven,  and 
called  himself  the  Paraclete,  or  Comforter,  promised  by  Jesus  to 


RUINS    OF    SHAPOOR.  97 

sepolis,  and  about  the  same  size,  of  three  feet 
in  height,  and  eighteen  inches  square.  They 
were  however  fed  with  fire  by  a  square  pas- 
sage, which  went  right  through  them,  about 
midway  up  the  height,  and  had  a  large  square 
opening  going  from  the  centre  of  this  to  the 
top,  for  the  ascent  of  the  flame  and  smoke. 
They  were  both  perfect,  extremely  portable  ; 
and  as  both  together  would  form  only  a  load 
for  a  strong  mule,  they  might  be  brought 
away  from  the  spot,  and  taken  to  Bushire 
with  ease.'^ 

Our  remaining  way  to  Derees  was  over 
the  same  fertile  and  well-watered  soil,  now 
choked  with  thorns  and  wild  grass,  on  which 
cattle  were  feeding ;  and  it  was  past  sun-set 
when  we  reached  the  place,  where  we  had 

follow  him  ;  but  he  and  all  his  disciples  were  at  length  put  to 
death  by  Baharam,  and  the  skin  of  the  impostor  was  stripped 
off,  and  hung  up  at  the  gate  of  the  city  of  Shapoor. — History  of 
Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  101. 

*  Near  Baka,  in  Mazanduan,  are  some  ancient  places  of  fire 
worship  of  a  singular  kind.  They  are  arched  vaults  built  of 
stone,  over  a  part  of  the  soil  from  whence  flame  issues,  as  at 
Karkook ;  and  a  cane  or  pipe  being  fixed  into  the  ground  near 
the  altar,  a  light  burns  up  through  it  like  the  blue  flame  of 
spirits,  but  more  pure ;  and  to  one  of  these  temples  even  Hindoo 
pilgrims  are  said  to  resort  from  the  distant  banks  of  the  Ganges* 
— History  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  261 . 
VOL.  II.  H 


98  DEPARTURE    FOR   BUSHIRE. 

the  satisfaction  of  finding  the  messenger  re- 
turned with  our  horses  and  baggage  from  Shi- 
raz,  and  a  comfortable  shelter  and  meal  pro- 
vided for  us. 

Nov.  7th. — We  left  Derees  two  hours  be- 
fore daylight,  on  our  way  to  Bushire.  In  an 
hour  from  hence  we  reached  the  Rah  Dan? 
where  an  alarm  was  given  at  our  approach. 
Soon  after,  we  came  to  a  long  and  narrow 
ascending  pass,  called  Terz-e-Turkoon,  and, 
crossing  this,  came  out  into  a  fine  plain.  In 
an  hour  afterwards  we  reached  its  boundary, 
having  on  the  right  a  long  village  called 
Kanaredj,  and  by  the  road-side  a  small  cara- 
vansera.  This  led  us  to  the  brow  of  a  lofty 
hill,  which  we  descended  by  the  Kotel  Kana- 
redj. A  Rah  Dan  was  placed  here  also  in  a 
narrow  passage,  through  mountains  of  lime- 
stone, slate,  and  veins  of  quartz.  Some  of 
the  cliffs  were  very  rugged,  with  almost  per- 
pendicular strata;  and  the  roads  were  ex- 
tremely bad.  This  Kotel,  or  Pass,  took  us 
an  hour  to  clear.  In  half  an  hour  from  its 
foot  we  reached  a  small  village  of  huts,  called 
Khish,  with  some  ruined  houses :  and  in  half 
an  hour  afterwards  we  alighted  at  the  cara- 
vansera  of  Koneh  Takhta,  where  we  refresh- 


JOURNEY    TO    BUSHIRE.  99 

ed.  This  village  contains  only  a  few  houses 
and  huts,  seated  in  the  centre  of  a  fine  and 
extensive  plain,  to  the  north  of  which  were 
large  groves  of  trees  and  gardens. 

From  hence  in  two  hours  we  came  to  an- 
other Rah  Dan,  which  stood  on  the  brow  of 
the  last  range  of  hills  we  had  to  descend, 
by   the   steep    pass   called  Kotel  Dahlikee. 
When  we  reached  the  valley  below  this  de- 
scent, we  found  a  fine  clear  stream  of  water, 
running  rapidly  through  a  deep  bed  to  the 
westward,  but  nearly  as  salt  as  the  sea,  so  that 
our  horses,  thirsty  as  they  were,  would  not 
touch  it.     This  Kotel  was  extremely  long, 
consisting  of  two  or  three  stages,    and  was 
most  fatiguing  to  our  animals  and  ourselves. 
We  came  at  length  to  a  point,  from  which 
we  could  see  nothing  before  us  but  one  con- 
tinued plain,  and  the  blue  line  of  the  sea  in 
the  western  horizon, — an  object  I   had    not 
witnessed  for  many  months,  and  one  which 
gave  me  as  much  delight  to  behold  again,  as 
was  experienced  by  the  Greeks  under  Xe- 
nophon,  when  they  first  saw  the  Euxine  in 
their  retreat  from  Asia  to   Greece.     It  was 
sun-set  before  we  reached  the  bottom  of  this 
pass,  when  we  turned  around  to  the  south  to 

H  2 


100  JOURNEY    TO   BUSHIRE. 

enter  the  large  village  of  Dahlikee,  where  we 
found  shelter  in  a  new  and  good  caravansera. 
^  Nov.  8th. — We  remained  here  only  just  to 
feed  and  repose  our  horses,  and  set  out  again 
before  midnight.  We  went  southerly  along 
the  foot  of  the  hills,  as  on  our  right  was 
swampy  ground ;  and  in  our  way  we  passed 
some  foetid  pools,  and  were  plagued  with  flies 
and  musquitoes :  the  night  was  calm  and 
warm. 

The  road  gradually  turning  off  to  the 
south-west,  we  came  in  about  five  hours  to 
the  large  scattered  village  of  Barazgoon, 
seated  among  palm-trees,  and  four  fursucks 
from  Dahlikee.  From  hence  we  were  two 
hours  going  across  the  plain  to  a  smaller 
village,  called  Seeroond ;  and  in  two  hours 
more  we  reached  the  station  of  Ahmedee, 
which  is  accounted  by  the  people  to  be  ten 
fursucks  from  D^-hlikee, but  which  we  thought 
to  be  only  eight. 

The  water  here  was  exceedingly  good  ;  but 
the  people  were  poor,  and  nothing  was  to  be 
had  except  some  small  dried  fish  like  smelts, 
with  a  few  dates,  and  bad  bread.  The  in- 
habitants all  now  began  to  look  more  like 
Arabs  than  Persians.     Having  reposed  here 


ARRIVAL    AT    BUSHIRE.  101 

under  a  tree,  we  fed  our  horses,  and  soon 
after  sun-set  mounted  again.  We  followed 
the  great  road  across  the  plain,  in  a  south- 
south-west  direction,  and  after  about  two  fur- 
sucks,  passed  a  cluster  of  date-trees  on  our 
left,  where  a  caravan  was  halting.  This  place 
had  no  houses,  but  was  called  Chartak. 

In  four  hours  from  thence  we  reached  the 
walls  of  Bushire  ;  but  as  it  was  night,  we  could 
gain  no  admission  within  the  gates,  so  that  we 
had  to  wait  outside  until  sun-rise.  The  sound 
and  the  smell  of  the  sea  were  most  gratifying 
to  me  :  but  we  slept  but  little,  from  the  going 
out  of  the  women  and  asses  in  the  morning, 
long  before  daylight,  to  fetch  water  for  the 
day  from  the  wells  in  the  plain. 

Nov.  9th. — We  entered  the  gate  of  Bushire 
at  sun-rise,  rode  to  the  British  factory,  and, 
leaving  our  horses,  went  straight  to  the  bath  ; 
after  which,  we  walked  through  the  dirty  and 
sandy  town,  to  the  Resident's  house.  There 
we  found  a  cordial  reception  from  a  large 
party  of  my  countrymen,  who  were  staying 
with  the  Resident,  and  were  furnished  with 
a  room,  in  which  I  passed  a  day  of  complete 
repose. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

STAY     AT     BUSHIRE  ITS    TOWN,    PORT,     COM- 


My  stay  at  Bushire  was  in  many  respects 
agreeable,  as,  among  the  English  gentlemen 
there,  were  some  few  whose  society  was 
such  as  would  lessen  the  tedium  of  any  place 
of  exile,  which  this  might  really  be  consi- 
dered. My  Dervish,  Ismael,  insisted  on  re- 
maining with  me  till  I  embarked  for  India, 
and  repeated  his  assurance  that  if  the  re- 
mainder of  my  way  to  that  country  were  not 
by  sea,  an  element  of  which  he  had  an  inde- 
scribable horror,  he  would  accompany  me  to 
the  last  stage  of  my  journey :  and  when  we 
parted,  which  we  did  with  mutual  regret,  he 
spurned  the  idea  of  receiving  a  single  piastre 
for  his  journey.     He  had  accompanied  me, 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TOWN  OF  BUSHIRE,  FROM  THE  APPROACH  BY  LAND. 


Published  by  Henrj  Colburn,  3  New  Burlington  Street.    Jan.  1, 18^9. 


BUSHIRE.  103 

he  said,  from  pure  esteem  and  affection, 
though  the  journey  was  so  long  and  perilous  ; 
and  he  should  return  as  he  came,  without 
asking  of  me  any  thing  beyond  some  token 
or  memento:  though  even  that  he  should 
never  require  to  remind  him  of  the  frank 
and  open-hearted  Hadjee  of  Egypt.  I  in- 
dulged him  in  his  wishes ;  parted  from  him 
on  the  day  of  our  sailing,  with  no  other  gift 
or  exchange  than  mutual  pledges  of  friend- 
ship and  esteem  ;  and  subsequently  heard,  by 
an  Arabic  letter  from  himself,  received  by 
me  while  in  India,  of  his  safe  return  and 
happy  meeting  with  his  friends  at  Bagdad, 
about  the  period  of  my  reaching  Calcutta. 

The  information  I  collected,  from  per- 
sonal observations  made  during  my  stay  at 
Bushire,  will  oe  found  embodied  in  the  fol- 
lowing description  : — . 

The  town  of  Bushire,  or,  as  the  inhabi- 
tants call  it,  Abu  Shahr,*  is  seated  in  a  low 
peninsula  of  sand,  extending  out  from  the 
general  line  of  the  coast,  so  as  to  form  a 
bay  on  each  side.  Its  geographical  position 
has  been  pretty  accurately  determined  to  be 
in  lat.  29""  0'  north,  and  in  long.  50«  48'  east, 

*  From  the  Arabic  t^ul  literally,  the  Father  of  Cities. 


104  BUSHIRE. 

as  the  result  of  many  repeated  observations. 
The  appearance  of  the  town,  on  approaching 
it  either  from  the  land  or  the  sea,  is  rather 
agreeable  than  otherwise,  and  promises  more 
than  it  is  afterwards  found  to  contain.  From 
the  edge  of  the  coast,  on  which  it  stands,  a 
level  plain  extends  behind  it  for  a  distance 
of  more  than  forty  miles  in  a  straight  line, 
where  it  terminates  at  the  foot  of  the  first 
range  of  hills  between  Bushire  and  Shiraz, 
and  where  the  mountainous  part  of  Persia 
may  be  said  to  commence.  These  hills, 
being  abrupt  and  lofty,  form  a  fine  back- 
ground to  the  view  in  clear  weather,  and 
their  distance  giving  them  the  blue  haze 
which  often  leaves  only  their  outlines  dis- 
tinct, they  afford  a  picturesque  relief  to  the 
monotony  of  the  scenery  near  the  coast. 
The  town  itself  is  seated  so  nearly  on  a  level 
with  the  water's  edge,  that  the  tops  of  the 
houses  are  first  perceived  as  if  rising  out  of 
the  sea.  The  general  aspect  presents  a  num- 
ber of  tall  square  towers,  called  baudgeers,  or 
wind-catchers,  and  constructed  with  passages 
for  air,  during  the  excessive  heat  of  summer, 
to  ventilate  the  houses  over  which  they  are 
erected.     The  dwellings   are   all  flat-roofed 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    TOWN.  105 

and  terraced,  and  mostly  built  of  a  light- 
coloured  and  friable  madrapore,  or  coralline ; 
and  as  there  are  no  domes  or  minarets  seen 
among  them,  and  a  total  absence  of  trees, 
gardens,  or  verdure,  the  whole  picture  is  of 
a  dull,  grey,  sandy  hue,  particularly  unin- 
viting, and  even  fatiguing  to  the  view  under 
a  sultry  sky:  indeed,  except  when  the  wea- 
ther is  sufficiently  clear  to  unveil  the  moun- 
tains of  the  background,  it  possesses  no  re- 
lief; but  the  only  contrast  it  offers  is  a 
change  from  the  blue  surface  of  a  level  sea 
to  the  yellow  plains  of  a  parched  and  sandy 
desert  as  level  as  itself. 

On  landing,  the  scene  is  not  at  all  im- 
proved :  the  town  is  now  found  to  stand 
partly  on  a  slight  eminence,  which  is  greatest 
in  its  centre,  and  is  not  more  than  one  hun- 
dred feet  at  its  highest  elevation  from  the 
sea.  From  thence  it  shelves  gently  down  to 
the  beach  on  either  side,  where  the  houses 
are  literally  built  upon  the  sands.  The  whole 
number  of  dwellings  does  not  amount  to  more 
than  fifteen  hundred,  of  which  one-third,  at 
least,  are  reed  enclosures,  scarcely  deserving 
even  the  name  of  huts,  as  most  of  them  are 
unroofed,   and   are    inhabited  by    none   but 


106  '      BUSHIRE. 

slaves  and  the  very  lowest  order  of  the  people. 
The  houses  are  built  chiefly  of  a  friable 
stone  composed  of  sand  and  shells  imbedded 
in  clay  ;  and  the  best  of  them  are  construct- 
ed of  burnt  bricks  brought  from  Bussorah. 
The  style  of  architecture  is  that  which  pre- 
vails in  Arabia  generally,  with  slight  addi- 
tions of  the  Persian  kind.  The  buildings 
are  large,  square,  flat-roofed,  laid  out  in  cen- 
tral courts  and  small  apartments,  badly  light- 
ed, and  often  as  badly  aired.  Excepting  the 
East  India  Company's  factory,  the  residence 
of  the  Governor,  and  a  few  good  dwellings 
of  the  merchants,  particularly  the  Armenians, 
there  is  scarcely  one  comfortable,  and  cer- 
tainly not  one  handsome  edifice  in  the  place. 
The  streets  are  so  many  narrow  alleys,  with- 
out sufficient  height  of  wall  on  either  side  to 
shelter  the  passenger  from  the  sun,  the  only 
advantage  that  narrow  streets  possess ;  and 
they  are  totally  without  order  or  regularity  in 
their  windings  and  direction.  The  mosques 
are  all  open  buildings,  without  domes  or  mi- 
narets, and  are  inferior  both  in  general  ap- 
pearance without,  and  in  their  neatness  with- 
in, to  those  seen  in  the  smallest  villages  of 
Arabia.     Coifee-houses  there  are  none  that 


ITS    FORTIFICATION.  107 

I  remember  to  have  seen,  as  this  beverage  is 
not  much  in  use  among  the  inhabitants.  The 
only  bath  that  exists  here,  is  small,  mean, 
filthy,  and  badly  attended  ;  and  the  bazaars 
are  simply  benches  covered  by  a  roof  of  matted 
rafters,  of  the  most  wretched  appearance. 
There  are  one  or  two  good  caravanseras  near 
the  landing-place  for  boats,  occupied  by  and 
belonging  to  Armenian  merchants  ;  but  those 
belonging  to  the  Mohammedans  hardly  de- 
serve the  name. 

The  town  is  open  to  the  north-east,  which 
fronts  the  inner  harbour ;  to  the  south-west^ 
which  fronts  the  outer  roads  ;  and  is  enclosed 
only  across  the  peninsula  by  a  poor  wall  ex- 
tending from  sea  to  sea,  and  in  which  is  the 
gate  of  exit  and  entrance  to  and  from  Persia. 
There  is  nothing  in  all  this  that  can  deserve 
the  name  of  a  fortification :  and  the  only 
defence  which  it  presents  towards  an  enemy 
is  a  few  dismounted  guns,  without  this  gate, 
on  the  land  side  ;  a  battery  of  six  or  eight 
nearly  abreast  of  the  factory,  in  the  south- 
west quarter  of  the  town ;  and  half  a  dozen 
others,  placed  before  the  Custom-house,  in 
the  north-east  quarter,  and  facing  the  inner 
harbour, — all  of  them  of  different  calibre,  and 


108  BUSHIRE.  : 

mounted  on  carriages  of  such  a  crazy  kind, 
as  would  certainly  fall  to  pieces  on  a  second 
or  third  discharge.  On  the  south-west  side, 
which  faces  the  outer  roads,  it  is  all  a  level 
sandy  beach,  which,  from  its  being  shoal  water 
near  it,  is  beat  on  by  an  almost  constant  surf, 
though  not  of  such  violence  as  to  prevent  the 
landing  of  boats  in  moderate  weather.  The 
north-east,  which  faces  the  inner  harbour, 
has  a  wharf  or  two  for  landing  goods  on,  and 
is  altogether  better  sheltered ;  though,  from 
the  number  of  the  sand  banks,  and  the  diver- 
sity of  channels  between  this  place  and  the 
shipping,  it  is  not  easily  accessible  even  in 
boats,  except  to  those  in  some  degree  ac- 
quainted with  the  shoals  ;  but  it  is  always  pre- 
ferred as  the  safest  and  best  landing-place. 

The  population  of  Bushire  has  been  vari- 
ously estimated,  and  has  no  doubt  been  at  a 
very  different  standard  at  different  periods. 
At  present,  the  most  favourable  accounts  do 
not  make  it  more  than  ten  thousand,  and  the 
true  number  is  perhaps  still  less.  The  Ahl- 
el-Bushire,  or  the  race  of  Bushire,  as  they  are 
emphatically  called,  present  a  disagreeable 
mixture  of  the  Arab  and  the  Persian;  in  which, 
whatever  is  amiable  in  either  character  seems 


ITS    POPULATION.  109 

totally  rejected,  and  whatever  is  vicious  in 
both  is  retained  and  even  cherished.     These 
form  the  great  body  of  the  people  ;  and  their 
dress,  their  language,  their  manners,  and  their 
general  appearance, — all  bespeak  their  mon- 
grel breed.     The  chief  occupations  of  these 
are  trade  and  commerce  on  a  confined  scale, 
fishing,  pilotage,  and  the  navigation  of  their 
own  vessels  of  the  port.     In  person,  they  are 
neither  so  meagre  nor  so  swarthy  as  the  real 
Arabs    of  the  opposite   coast;  but  they  are 
equally  ill-featured  and  dirty,  and  destitute 
of  the  high  spirit,  the  feeling  of  honour,  and 
the  warm  hospitality  which  distinguish  these  : 
they  retain,  however,  all  their  meanness  in 
bargains,  and  their  disposition  for  robbery  and 
plunder  of  property  not  attainable  by  better 
means.     Their  dress  is  equally  a  combination 
of  the  Arab  and  Persian  garments,  without 
being   purely    the  costume  of  either.     The 
shirt,  trowsers,  and  zuboon,  or  outer  garment, 
are  Persian  ;  but  the  turban  and  the  abba,  or 
cloak,  are  Arabic, — the  one  is  formed  of  the 
blue  checked  cloth  of  Muscat,  or  the  brown 
cloth  of  Shooster  ;  and  the  other  of  the  manu- 
facture of  Lahsa,  Kateef,  and  Coete,  on  the 
opposite  shore.     The  black  sheepskin  cap,  the 


110  BUSHIRE. 

most  peculiar  feature  of  the  Persian  dress,  is 
worn  only  by  such  as  come  down  from  the 
higher  country  and  remain  as  sojourners  here, 
and  is  in  no  instance  used   by  a  native    of 
Bushire.      The  common  language  is  Persian, 
but  of  so  harsh  and  corrupt  a  kind,  that  the 
natives  of  Shiraz,  who  pride  themselves  on  the 
purity  of  their  tongue,  affect  to  treat  it  as 
almost  unintelligible  ;  and  short  as  is  the  dis- 
tance, and  constant  as  is  the  communication 
between  these  places,  I  scarcely  ever  remarked 
a  greater  difference   than  there  is  between 
their  different  pronunciations  of  the   same 
words  :  the  one  is  a  model  of  the  most  har- 
monious utterance ;  the   other  is  nearly   as 
harsh  as  the  most  ill-spoken  Arabic.     This 
last  language  is  understood  by  most  of  the 
natives  of  Bushire  ;  but  they  have  as  little 
elegance  in  their  way  of  pronouncing  this, 
as  they  have  in  speaking  their  own  tongue  ; 
and  one  must  hear  the  Arabic  of  Bushire,  to 
comprehend  how  harsh  and  disagreeable  its 
sounds   are   capable    of  being   made.     This 
double  corruption   is  the  more  striking,   as 
they  live  close  to,  and  in  constant  communi- 
cation with  Shiraz,  where  Persian  is  spoken 
in  its  greatest  purity  ;  and  they  both  trade 


SHEIK    MOHAMMED    AND    HIS    NEPHEW.    Ill 

with  and  receive  frequent  visitors  from  Coete, 
or  Graen,  on  the  opposite  coast,  where  the 
Arabic  is  spoken  with  all  the  softness  and  har- 
mony of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and  in  a  way 
superior  to  that  of  any  other  part  of  Arabia 
in  which  I  had  heard  it. 

The  merchants  of  Bushire  are  composed 
about  equally  of  Persians  and  Armenians. 
The  latter,  however,  are  men  of  more  exten- 
sive connexions  with  India ;  and  as  they  pos- 
sess more  activity,  intelligence,  and  integrity 
of  dealing,  so  they  are  more  wealthy  ;  and 
this,  with  the  countenance  which  they  receive 
from  the  Company's  Resident  here,  is  suffi- 
cient to  give  them  considerable  influence  in 
the  place.  There  are  no  Jews  of  any  note, 
as  at  Bussorah;  nor  Banians,  as  at  Muscat; — 
the  Armenians  supplying  the  place  of  both, 
as  brokers  and  agents  for  others,  as  well  as 
traders  on  their  own  account ;  and  as  these 
both  write  and  speak  English  and  Hindos- 
tanee,  they  are  more  generally  useful  to  mari- 
time men,  and  mercantile  visitors  from  India. 

The  Governor  of  the  town.  Sheik  Abd-el- 
Russool,  is  of  a  family  long  resident  here,  and 
he  exercises  all  the  responsible  functions  of  the 
government,  though  he  has  an  uncle,  Sheik 


112  BUSHIRE. 

Mohammed,  in  whose  presence  he  himself 
stands,  and  to  whom  he  always  yields  the 
greatest  honours.  Both  of  these,  when  they 
walk  out,  are  attended  by  a  guard  of  about 
twenty  armed  men,  as  well  as  servants  ;  yet 
these  add  nothing  even  to  the  apparent  dig- 
nity of  the  persons  whom  they  attend.  It  is 
the  daily  practice  of  both  these  chiefs  to  come 
down  before  noon,  and  after  El-Assr,  to  the 
sea- side,  fronting  the  harbour,  where  they  sit 
on  the  bench  of  a  miserable  matted  hut,  erect- 
ed for  that  purpose,  and  derive  great  satis- 
faction from  the  salutes  of  passengers,  and 
from  observing  what  may  be  doing  among 
the  shipping.  When  Sheik  Mohammed,  who 
is  the  eldest,  but  not  the  actual  Governor, 
happens  to  be  there,  his  nephew  first  stands 
at  a  respectful  distance,  with  his  hands  folded 
beneath  his  cloak.  He  is  then  desired  to 
seat  himself,  which  he  does  frequently  on  the 
ground,  and  in  the  humblest  and  most  ob- 
scure place  that  he  can  find  behind  his  uncle. 
After  some  time  he  is  desired  to  advance 
forward,  and  he  ventures  to  change  his  first 
seat  for  a  better  one ;  and  this  farce  conti- 
nues, until,  after  repeated  invitations,  he  be- 
comes seated  in  front  of  his  superior,  while 


BUSHIRE.  113 

all  the  rest  stand ;  but  he  never  shares  the 
same  bench  with  his  relative. 

The  forces  of  this  government  vary  in  num- 
ber and  description  at  every  different  period 
of  the  year,  as  they  are  mostly  composed  of 
persons  whose  services  are  demanded  at  the 
exigency  of  the  moment ;  so  that  there  are 
sometimes  not  an  hundred,  and  at  others 
more  than  a  thousand  in  pay  at  once.  These, 
like  the  soldiers  of  all  the  Turkish,  Persian, 
and  Arabian  countries,  are  mostly  horsemen, 
paid  by  the  chiefs  whom  they  serve,  without 
discipline  or  uniformity  of  dress,  and  furnish- 
ing even  their  own  arms  and  accoutrements 
at  their  own  caprice.  The  Governor  is  nomi- 
nally subject  to  the  Prince  of  Shiraz,  and 
through  him  to  the  King  of  Persia,  to  whom 
he  pays  a  yearly  tribute ;  but  this  is  often 
withheld  on  slight  pretexts,  and  nothing  but 
the  power  to  be  able  to  maintain  an  indepen- 
dence is  wanted,  since  the  disposition  mani- 
fests  itself  on  almost  every  occasion. 

Notwithstanding  the  meanness  of  Bushire 
as  a  town,  it  is  the  best,  excepting  Bussorah 
only,  that  now  exists  in  the  whole  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  It  possesses  considerable  im- 
portance, when  considered  as  the  only  port 

VOL.  II.  1 


114  BUSHIRE. 

of  such  an  extensive  empire  as  Persia;  for 
it  is  through  this  channel  alone  that  all  her 
supplies  from  India  by  sea  are  received.  The 
former  splendour  of  Ormuz  and  Gombroon, 
or  Bunder  Abassi,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf, 
is  known  to  have  been  derived  from  their 
commerce  only,  when  they  stood  in  the  same 
relation  to  Persia  generally,  as  depots  for  ma- 
ritime commerce,  that  Bushire  does  at  pre- 
sent. The  history  and  the  fate  of  these  set- 
tlements are  known  to  every  one.  They  were 
once  splendid  cities :  they  are  now  no  more. 
Whether  this  be  a  fate  that  awaits  Bushire, 
or  not,  would  be  difficult  to  prophesy  ;  but 
as  it  has  never  attained  for  its  merchants  the 
wealth  which  the  liberality  and  munificence 
of  Abbas  the  Great  allowed  his  subjects  to 
acquire  ;  and  as  its  trade,  though  sufficiently 
extensive,  is  crippled  by  the  overwhelming 
pressure  of  a  long  train  of  exactions  conti- 
nued from  the  sea  to  the  inland  capital ;  it  is 
likely  that  it  will  never  arrive  at  the  pitch  of 
opulence  to  which  Ormuz  and  Gombroon 
attained,  nor,  for  a  long  period  at  least,  sink 
to  the  utter  desolation  of  these  proud  marts, 
since  no  change  can  be  so  much  for  the  worse 
as  to  effect  such  a  total  abandonment. 


TRADE    BETWEEN    PERSIA    AND    INDIA.     115 

The  trade  at  present  existing  between  Per- 
sia and  India  admits  of  the  average  arrival  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  merchant-ships  yearly  from 
Bengal  and  Bombay.  Not  more  than  half 
their  cargo  is  however  landed  here ;  and 
often  not  more  than  a  third,  as  a  portion  of 
it  is  usually  taken  out  at  Muscat,  and  a  still 
larger  portion  goes  on  to  Bussorah,  From 
Bengal  are  brought  rice,  sugar,  indigo,  pep- 
per, and  spices,  with  a  small  assortment  of 
muslin  and  piece-goods.  From  Bombay  are 
imported  the  annual  supplies  of  iron,  steel, 
tin,  lead,  and  woollen  cloths,  sent  by  the 
East  India  Company,  and  continued  to  be 
sold  yearly  at  a  loss,  in  consequence  of  their 
being  obliged  by  their  charter  to  export  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  these  articles  annually  from 
Great  Britain,  and  to  force  a  market  for  them 
where  they  can.  The  productions  of  China, 
in  sugar,  sugar-candy,  preserved  ginger,  cam- 
phor, and  porcelain,  are  also  brought  from 
Bombay,  as  well  as  cassia,  cloves,  nutmegs, 
and  other  productions  of  the  Eastern  Isles. 
These  are  all  taken  up  into  Persia  by  cara- 
vans of  mules,  which  pass  regularly  between 
this  place  and  Shiraz.  The  rice  and  sugar 
of  Bengal  often  find  their  way  to  Bahrein, 

I  2 


116      TRADE    BETWEEN    PERSIA    AND    INDIA. 

and  other  islands  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  as  well 
as  the  coffee  of  Mokha,  which  is  shipped  at 
Muscat,  in  order  to  fill  up  the  vacant  room 
left  by  goods  being  discharged  there.  The 
rice  of  Persia  is  preferable  to  that  of  India, 
and  coffee  is  not  a  very  general  beverage  in 
this  country,  though  it  is  all  over  Arabia, 
which  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  diversion 
of  these  two  articles  into  other  channels. 

The  returns  for  these  imports  are  made 
in  Persian  horses,  supplied  by  contract  for 
the  East  India  Company's  cavalry;  in  old 
copper,  collected  in  the  interior,  in  domestic 
utensils,  &c.  and  sent  to  Bengal ;  in  assafoe  • 
tida,  an  article  much  used  in  the  cookery  of 
India  ;  in  dried  fruits,  particularly  almonds, 
small  raisins,  quinces,  and  apricots;  in  car- 
pets for  Mohammedan  prayers  for  mosques, 
and  for  private  apartments,  the  manufacture 
of  the  country  ;  in  otto  of  roses  and  rose- 
water,  in  small  quantities ;  and  in  Shiraz 
wine.  All  these  articles  do  not  amount, 
however,  to  one-third  the  value  of  the  im- 
ports ;  so  that  the  residue  is  made  up  in 
money.  This  consists  of  Spanish  and  Ger- 
man dollars,  a  few  Venetian  sequins,  and 
other  gold  coins,  but  mostly  of  Persian  ru- 


DUTIES   ON   MERCHANDIZE.  117 

pees.  The  freight  of  all  articles  from  India 
to  Bushire  is  nearly  the  same  as  from  India 
to  Bussorah,  and  the  bulky  articles  of  re- 
turn are  also  taken  back  at  the  same  rate. 
In  treasure,  however,  there  is  this  difference, 
that  while  from  Bussorah  it  pays  three  per 
cent,  to  Bombay,  and  four  per  cent,  to  Ben- 
gal, the  last  risk  being  nearly  double  that  of 
the  first ;  from  Bushire  they  are  both  paid 
alike,  at  only  three  per  cent,  equally  for 
Bombay  and  Calcutta ;  and  the  only  expla- 
nation that  one  can  get  for  this  inconsis- 
tency of  making  no  advance  of  freight,  when 
the  distance,  the  time,  and  the  risk,  are  all 
doubled,  is,  that  it  is  an  old  custom,  and  can- 
not be  broken  through. 

The  duties  on  merchandize  exported  and 
imported  are  regulated  by  the  package  and 
quality  of  the  goods,  and  not  fixed  by  a  per 
centage  on  their  value.  Rice  and  sugar  pay 
each  half  a  rupee  per  bag;  sugar-candy,  a 
rupee  per  tub ;  indigo,  fifteen  rupees  per 
chest ;  pepper,  cassia,  cloves,  cardamoms,  and 
other  spices,  six  rupees  per  bag  ;  camphor, 
two  rupees  per  box ;  China  ware,  four  ru- 
pees per  chest ;  Mokha  coffee,  two  rupees 
per  bale ;  and  sweetmeats,  three  rupees  per 


118  DUTIES    ON    MERCHANDIZE. 

package.  The  duties  on  Indian  piece-goods 
vary  considerably,  according  to  their  quality, 
but  average  at  about  ten  per  cent. ;  and 
those  on  the  European  articles,  of  cloth, 
iron,  steel,  lead,  and  tin,  at  not  more  than 
five  per  cent,  on  their  invoice  price.  The 
duties  on  the  exports  or  returns  are  still 
less :  horses  and  money,  which  form  the 
greatest  portion  of  these  returns,  are  both 
exempt  from  duties  of  any  kind,  as  well  as 
old  copper,  and  Persian  carpets  ;  dried  fruits 
pay  only  one  rupee  per  package  ;  assafoetida, 
a  rupee  per  jar ;  rose-water,  two  rupees  per 
case  of  several  bottles  ;  and  Shiraz  wine  is 
free. 

It  is  a  common  practice  for  the  Governor 
to  appropriate  to  himself  such  of  the  mer- 
chandize passing  through  his  port  as  may 
be  convenient  to  himself,  either  for  his  own 
immediate  use,,  or  to  speculate  in  as  an  ar- 
ticle of  commerce  ;  but,  instead  of  paying 
for  such  goods  when  thus  taken,  he  suffers 
the  amount  to  stand  over  as  a  balance  in 
favour  of  the  owners  of  them,  to  be  liqui- 
dated by  remitting  them  the  duties  on  fur- 
ther imports,  till  the  amount  is  made  up. 
This    is    naturally   an    obnoxious   mode   of 


DUTIES    ON    MERCHANDIZE.  119 

dealing,  in  the  estimation  of  the  merchants ; 
but  they  have  no  remedy.     During  our  stay 
here,  the  Governor  was  engaged  in    a   war 
with  some  villages  on  the  plain  behind  the 
town,  and  was  much  in  want  of  lead  for  mus- 
ket-balls.    This  want,  instead  of  increasing 
the  demand  for,  and  consequently  the  price 
of  the  article,  as   it  would   naturally   have 
done  under  any  well-regulated  government, 
had  actually  the  effect  of  stopping  the  sup- 
plies of  this  metal,  which  were  laid  in  ex- 
pressly for  the  place.     A  vessel  lying  in  the 
roads  had  on  board  several  hundred  slabs  of 
lead,  shipped  at  Bombay  for  Bushire  ;  but 
the  owner  of  them,  fearing  that  if  they  were 
landed,  the  Governor's  agents  would  seize 
them  for  their  master's  use,  on   the  usual 
condition    of  the  long   payments  described, 
requested  the  captain  not  to  land  them  here, 
and  paid  additional  freight  for  carrying  them 
on  to  Bussorah,  where    even    an  uncertain 
market  was  better  than  the  ruinous  one  to 
which  they  would  come  here,  by  falling  into 
the  Governor's  hands.     Under  such  a  system, 
light  as  the  duties  on  merchandize  may  be, 
commerce  can  hardly  be  expected  to  flourish  ; 
and  the  fact  is,  that  there  is  a  disinclination 


120  PORT    OB^    BUSHIliE. 

to  speculate  beyond  the  actual  consumption, 
and  a  fear  and  restraint  in  all  commercial 
undertakings,  which  is  destructive  of  the  ac- 
tivity that  commerce  requires  to  make  it  ad- 
vance, or  even  to  keep  it  alive. 

As  a  sea-port,  Bushire  has  no  one  good 
quality  to  recommend  it.  The  anchorage  of 
the  outer  roads  in  four  fathoms  water,  is  at 
least  six  miles  from  the  shore,  and  is  so  ex- 
posed to  the  full  fury  of  the  north-west  and 
south-east  gales,  which  prevail  here,  that 
whenever  it  blows  a  single-reef  breeze,  no 
boats  can  communicate  between  the  town 
and  the  vessel,  and  no  supplies  or  informa- 
tion be  received  ;  while  the  ship  herself  rides 
as  heavily  as  in  the  open  ocean,  without  the 
least  shelter ;  and  as  the  holding-ground  is 
good,  it  is  not  an  uncommon  event  for  vessels 
to  part  their  cables  and  be  driven  to  sea. 
The  inner  harbour  is  only  accessible  to  ships 
drawing  less  than  eighteen  feet  water ;  and 
as  the  entrance  is  over  a  bar  across  a  channel 
of  less  than  half  a  mile  wide,  such  vessels  can 
only  go  in  with  a  favourable  wind,  and  at  the 
top  of  high  water  in  spring  tides.  The  depth 
within  increases  to  three  and  a  quarter  and 
three  and  a  half  fathoms,  and  the  holding- 


THE    PIRATE    RAHMAH-BEN-JABER.         121 

ground  is  good :  but  here,  though  the  sea  is 
broken  off  by  the  projection  of  the  Rohilla 
Sands,  a  ship  is  exposed  to  all  the  force  of 
a  north-west  wind,  and  the  distance  is  still 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  shore,  which 
renders  communication  by  boats  difficult, 
and  often  impossible,  when  it  blows  strong. 
It  appears  by  some  of  the  older  descriptions 
of  Bushire,  that  the  Company's  cruisers,  and 
other  small  vessels,  were  formerly  able  to  an- 
chor close  up  to  the  north-east  side  of  the 
town,  within  the  inner  harbour ;  but  the 
channel  leading  up  to  this  will  now  scarcely 
admit  of  small  dows,  except  they  are  light- 
ened. There  are  anchorage-births  for  native 
boats  behind  some  small  islands,  to  the  north- 
east extremity  of  the  inner  harbour,  or  in 
the  deepest  part  of  the  bight  which  it  forms. 
This  was  at  present  occupied  by  the  fleet  of 
a  certain  Arab,  named  Rahmah-ben-Jaber, 
who  has  been  for  more  than  twenty  years 
the  terror  of  the  Gulf,  and  who  is  the  most 
successful  and  the  most  generally  tolerated 
pirate,  perhaps,  that  ever  infested  any  sea. 
This  man  is  by  birth  a  native  of  Graine,  on 
the  opposite  coast,  and  nephew  of  the  present 
governor,  or  Sheikh,  of  that  place.     His  fel- 


122         THE    PIRATE    RAHMAH-BEN-JABER. 

low-citizens  have  all  the  honesty,  however,  to 
declare  him  an  outlaw,  from  abhorrence  of 
his  profession  ;  and  he  has  found  that  shelter 
and  protection  at  Bush  ire,  which  his  own 
townsmen  very  properly  denied  to  him. 
With  five  or  six  vessels,  most  of  which  are 
very  large,  and  manned  by  crews  of  from  two 
to  three  hundred  each,  he  sallies  forth,  and 
captures  whatever  he  may  think  himself 
strong  enough  to  carry  off  as  his  prize ; — 
the  vessels  of  Graine,  of  Bussorah,  of  Bah- 
rein, of  Muscat,  and  even  of  Bushire,  where 
he  resides,  falling  equally  a  prey  to  him.  His 
followers,  to  the  number  perhaps  of  two  thou- 
sand, are  maintained  by  the  plunder  of  his 
prizes ;  and  as  these  are  most  of  them  his 
own  bought  African  slaves,  and  the  remainder 
equally  subject  to  his  authority,  he  is  some- 
times as  prodigal  of  their  lives  in  a  fit  of 
anger,  as  he  is  of  those  of  his  enemies,  whom 
he  is  not  content  to  slay  in  battle  only,  but 
basely  murders  in  cold  blood,  after  they  have 
submitted.  An  instance  is  related  of  his 
having  recently  put  a  great  number  of  his 
own  crew,  who  used  mutinous  expressions, 
into  a  tank  on  board,  in  which  they  usually 
kept  their  water,  and  this  being  shut  close 


THE    PIRATE    RAHMAH-BEN-JABER.  123 

at  the  top,  the  poor  wretches  were  all  suf- 
focated, and  afterwards  thrown  overboard. 
This  butcher  chief,  like  the  celebrated  Djez- 
zar  of  Acre,  affects  great  simplicity  of  dress, 
manners,  and  living ;  and  whenever  he  goes 
out,  he  is  not  to  be  distinguished  by  a 
stranger  from  the  crowd  of  his  attendants. 
He  carries  this  simplicity  to  a  degree  of 
filthiness  which  is  disgusting,  as  his  usual 
dress  is  a  shirt,  which  is  never  taken  off  to 
be  washed  from  the  time  it  is  first  put  on  till 
it  is  worn  out,  no  drawers  or  coverings  for 
the  legs  of  any  kind,  and  a  large  black  goat's- 
hair  cloak,  wrapped  over  all,  with  a  greasy 
and  dirty  handkerchief,  called  the  keffeea, 
thrown  loosely  over  his  head. 

Infamous  as  was  this  man's  life  and  cha- 
racter, he  was  not  only  cherished  and  courted 
by  the  people  of  Bushire,  who  dread  him,  but 
was  courteously  received  and  respectfully  en- 
tertained whenever  he  visited  the  British  fac- 
tory !  On  one  occasion,  at  which  I  was  pre- 
sent, he  was  sent  for  to  give  some  medical 
gentlemen  of  the  navy  and  the  Company's 
cruisers  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  his 
arm,  which  had  been  severely  wounded.  The 
wound  was  at  first  made  by  grape-shot  and 


12S4         THE    PIRATE    RAHMAH-BEN-JABER. 

splinters,  and  the  arm  was  one  mass  of  blood 
about  the  part  for   several  days,  while  the 
man  himself  was  with  difficulty  known  to  be 
alive.    He  gradually  recovered,  however,  with- 
out surgical  aid,  and  the  bone  of  the  arm 
between  the  elbow  and  the   shoulder  being 
completely  shivered  to  pieces,  the  fragments 
progressively  worked  out,   and  the   singular 
appearance  was  left  of  the  fore  arm  and  elbow 
connected  to  the  shoulder  by  flesh,  skin,  and 
tendons,  without  the  least  vestige  of  bone. 
This  man,  when  invited  to  the  factory  for  the 
purpose  of  making  this  exhibition  of  his  arm, 
was  himself  admitted  to  sit  at  the  table  and 
take  some  tea,  as  it  was  breakfast-time,  and 
some  of  his  followers  took  chairs  around  him. 
They  were  all  as  disgustingly  filthy  in  ap- 
pearance as   could   well   be  imagined;    and 
some  of  them  did  not   scruple  to  hunt  for 
vermin  on  their  skin,  of  which  there  was  an 
abundance,  and  throw  them  beside  them  on 
the  floor.     Rahmah-ben-Jaber's  figure    pre- 
sented a  meagre  trunk,  with  four  lank  mem- 
bers, all  of  them  cut  and  hacked,  and  pierced 
with  wounds  of  sabres,  spears,  and  bullets,  in 
every  part,  to  the  number  perhaps  of  more 
than  twenty  different  wounds.     He  had,  be- 


THE    PIRATE    RAHMAH-BEN-JABEE.  125 

sides,  a  face  naturally  ferocious  and  ugly,  and 
now  rendered  still  more  so  by  several  scars 
there,  and  by  the  loss  of  one  eye.  When 
asked  by  one  of  the  English  gentlemen  pre- 
sent, with  a  tone  of  encouragement  and  fami- 
liarity, whether  he  could  not  still  dispatch 
an  enemy  with  his  boneless  arm,  he  drew  a 
crooked  dagger,  or  yambeah,  from  the  girdle 
round  his  shirt,  and  placing  his  left  hand, 
which  was  sound,  to  support  the  elbow  of  the 
right,  which  was  the  one  that  was  wounded, 
he  grasped  the  dagger  firmly  with  his  clenched 
fist,  and  drew  it  backward  and  forward,  twirl- 
ing it  at  the  same  time,  and  saying,  that  he 
desired  nothing  better  than  to  have  the  cut- 
ting of  as  many  throats  as  he  could  effectually 
open  with  this  lame  hand  !  Instead  of  being 
shocked  at  the  utterance  of  such  a  brutal 
wish,  and  such  a  savage  triumph  at  still  pos- 
sessing the  power  to  murder  unoffending  vic- 
tims, I  know  not  how  to  describe  my  feeling 
of  shame  and  sorrow,  when  a  loud  burst  of 
laughter,  instead  of  execration,  escaped  from 
nearly  the  whole  assembly,  when  I  ventured 
to  express  my  dissent  from  the  general  feel- 
ing of  admiration  for  such  a  man. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BUSSORAH THE     CHIEF     PORT     OF     THE     PER- 
SIAN   GULF. ITS    POPULATION,    COMMERCE, 

AND    RESOURCES. 

Being  desirous  of  rendering  this  volume  as 
complete  as  possible,  from  materials  collected 
by  my  own  personal  observation,  I  am  in- 
duced to  follow  up  this  account  of  Bushire, 
by  a  still  more  enlarged  and  comprehensive 
description  of  Bussorah,  the  chief  port  in  the 
Persian  Gulf,  drawn  up,  as  stated  below, 
after  a  considerable  stay  at  the  place  itself, 
and  that  too,  within  a  very  few  months  after 
the  termination  of  the  journey  and  voyage 
described  in  this  work.  Shortly  after  my 
arrival  at  Bombay,  I  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  a  large  Indian  ship,  the  Hu- 
mayoon    Shah ;   in  which  I  returned  to  the 


I 


CIIAPTKH  V 


BOAT-ENTRANCE  TO  THE  HARBOUR  OF  BOMBAY. 


BUSSORAH.  127 

Persian  Gulf,  and  made  a  long  stay  at  each 
of  the  great  marts  of  trade  included  within 
its  boundaries.  The  opportunities  which  this 
afforded  of  acquiring  much  new  information, 
as  well  as  of  correcting  such  as  had  been  pre- 
viously obtained,  were  not  neglected :  and  I 
think  I  may  safely  say,  that  no  existing  ac- 
count of  the  Gulf  of  Persia  generally,  and 
of  its  chief  ports  more  especially,  will  be 
found  to  contain  more  copious  or  more  accu- 
rate information  than  that  which  it  is  my 
good  fortune  to  be  able  to  lay  before  the 
reader  of  these  pages.  The  hydrographical 
observations  made  in  the  second  voyage, 
though  important  to  the  correct  navigation 
of  the  Gulf,  have  been  embodied  in  another 
work,^  as  being  less  interesting  to  the  gene- 
ral reader,  and  such  parts  of  the  journal  only 
retained  in  this,  as  possess  the  great  literary 
interest  of  elucidating  the  early  voyage  of 
Nearchus,  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
when  this  sea  was  for  the  first  time  visited 
by  the  navigators  of  antiquity.  With  this 
explanation,  I  proceed  to  the  account  of  Bus- 

*  See  Voyage  from  Muscat  to  Bushire,  and  from  Bushire 
to  Bussorah,  in  the  PersianGulf,  published  in  *  The  Oriental 
Herald'  for  October  and  November  IS^S. 


128  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

sorah,  with  its  introductory  paragraph,  as 
explanatory  of  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  composed. 

After  a  residence  at  Bussorah  of  more  than 
three  months,  during  which  time  I  made  re- 
peated excursions  through  the  town,  and  had 
very  frequent  intercourse  with  all  classes  of 
the  native  inhabitants  of  the  place,  the  fol- 
lowing particulars  were  collected,  and  with 
the  impressions  to  which  these  gave  rise,  were 
faithfully  committed  to  writing  on  the  spot. 

The  town  of  Bussorah  ^  is  seated  near  the 
western  bank  of  the  combined  streams  of  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris,  about  fifty  miles  below 
the  point  of  their  union  at  Kourna,  f  and 
seventy  above  the  point  of  their  discharge 
into  the  sea.  These  two  rivers  preserve  their 
respective  names  of  the  Fraat  and  the  Dijela, 
from  their  sources  to  their  point  of  union ; 
and  the  stream  there  formed,  is  called  the 
Shat-el-Arab,  or  river  of  the  Arabs,  from  this 
point  to  the  sea.  The  position  of  the  British 
factory,  which  is  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 

*  )iya>  Bussra  is  the  true  orthography. 

t  Kourna,  at  the  junction  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  is 
<^ne  of  the  three  Apameas  built  by  Seleucus,  in  honour  of  his 
first  wife,  Apamea. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSOBAH.  129 

town,  lias  been  fixed  by  astronomical  obser- 
vations, to  be  in  latitude  80°.29'.30''  north, 
and  in  longitude  47°.34M5''.  east. 

The  form  of  the  town,  as  enclosed  by  its 
walls,  is  an  irregular  oblong  square,  its  great- 
est length  being  in  a  direction  of  east-north- 
east and  west-south-west,  and  its  greatest 
breadth  being  from  west-north-west  to  east- 
south-east,  lying  thus  nearly  at  right  angles 
with  the  stream  of  the  Shat-el-Arab,  which 
runs  by  the  town  from  north-north-west  to 
south-south-east.  The  portion  of  the  wall 
which  faces  to  the  east-north-east,  passes 
along  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  within 
a  few  hundred  yards  of  its  edge,  and  may 
extend  about  a  mile  in  length  from  south- 
south-east  to  north-north-west.  The  por- 
tion of  the  wall  facing  the  south-south-east 
goes  nearly  in  a  straight  line  from  the  river 
into  the  Desert,  or  from  east-north-east  to 
west-south-west  for  nearly  three  miles.  The 
wall  facing  the  north-north-west,  and  that 
facing  the  west-south-west,  are  almost  con- 
founded in  one,  by  the  irregularities  in  the 
line  of  the  first,  and  by  the  last  being  joined 
to  it  by  a  rounding  or  circuit  on  the  north- 
west, which  leaves  the  angle  of  their  union 

VOL.    11.  K 


ISO  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

ill-defined.  The  compass  of  the  whole,  how- 
ever, may  be  estimated  at  from  eight  to  nine 
miles. 

The  walls  themselves  are  built  of  sun-dried 
bricks,  and  are  of  considerable  thickness  at 
the  foundations,  with  loop-holes  for  musketry 
in  a  parapet  wall  at  the  top,  continued  all 
round,  and  occasional  ports  for  cannon  ;  but 
of  these  there  are  very  few  mounted.  Some 
portions  of  the  wall  are  bastioned  by  circu- 
lar towers,  and  most  of  it  is  crowned  with 
battlements  ;  but  the  work,  though  forming 
an  effectual  defence  against  the  Arabs  of  the 
Desert,  is,  to  the  eye  of  an  European,  desti- 
tute of  the  symmetry  and  strength  required 
in  a  fortified  barrier  ;  and  the  wretched  state 
of  the  whole  at  present,  from  the  neglect  of 
timely  repair,  makes  it  look  rather  like  the 
ruined  walls  of  some  deserted  city,  than  the 
enclosure  of  one  still  inhabited. 

The  walls  of  Bussorah  have  five  gates,  three 
of  which  face  the  south-south-east,  and,  be- 
ginning from  that  nearest  to  the  river,  are 
called  Bab-ei-Meejmooah,  Bab-el-Seradjey, 
and  Bab-el-Zobeir ;  the  other  two  face  the 
north-north-west,  and  are  called  Bab-el-Ro- 
bat,  which  is  near  the  Mekam,  and  Bab-el- 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSOUAH.  131 

Bagdad,  which  leads  directly  into  the  central 
and  most  peopled  part  of  the  city.  These 
gates  mostly  take  their  names  from  that  of 
places  to  and  from  which  they  lead,  and  are 
all  of  them  of  mean  appearance  in  their  ori- 
ginal structure,  and  in  a  state  of  great  ruin 
from  neglect  of  repairs.^ 

For  the  irrigation  of  the  grounds,  for  the 
supply  of  the  city  with  water,  and  for  the 
facility  of  transporting  goods,  there  are  three 
large  canals  that  lead  from  the  river  by  and 
through  the  town.  The  northern  and  south- 
ernmost ones  enter  just  at  these  respective 
angles  of  the  city  walls,  and  go  along  in  the 
direction  of  them,  on  the  outside,  and  within 
a  few  yards  of  their  foundations,  extending 
all  the  way  to  the  opposite  angles  of  the 
town,  and  there  uniting  without  or  beyond 
the  western  wall,  so  as  to  form  a  complete 
ditch  to  the  fortifications.  From  these  ca- 
nals, smaller  channels  carry  oiF  the  water 
in  different  directions,  to  irrigate  the  soil 
through  which  they  pass. 

The  central  canal  enters  from  the  river 

*  There  is  a  neat  one  now  building,  facing  the  south-west, 
between  the  Bagdad  and  Zobeir  gates,  and  to  be  called  Bab 
Bakna,  from  the  name  of  the  present  Mutesellim. 

K     2 


132  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

about  midway  between  these  two,  but  rather 
nearer  to  the  northernmost  one.     This  goes 
up  westerly,  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
town,  and  sej-ves  at  once  to  supply  the  inha- 
bitants with  water  for  domestic  purposes,  to 
irrigate  the  whole  of  the  fields  and  gardens 
within    the   walls,  by  channels    leading  off 
from  it  in  various  directions,  and  to  admit  of 
the  transportation  of  goods  in  the  large  boats 
which  pass  from  the  river  to  the  centre  of 
the  town,  laden  with  all  the  various  commo- 
dities that  enter  into  the  consumption  of  the 
people,  or  into  the  foreign  trade  of  the  mer- 
chants here.     All  these  canals  are  filled  by 
the  flood,  and  left  dry  by  the  ebb  tide  twice 
in  every  twenty-four  hours ;  the  only  excep- 
tions being  when  strong  north-west  winds 
prevail  about  the  neaps,  so  as  to  check  the 
flow  of  the  water,  and  make  a  continued  ebb 
in  the  river  for  two  tides  following.    As,  how- 
ever, even  on  ordinary  occasions,  there  is  sel- 
dom more  than  one  flood  that  can  fall  at  a 
convenient  hour  of  the   day,  from  the  ebb 
lasting  mostly  eight  hours,  and  the  flood  only 
four,  there  is  often  a  considerable  bustle  and 
noise  on  the  canal  among  the  boats  passing 
up  and  down,  so  much  so  as  to  give  an  im- 


DESCRIPTION   OF    BUSSORAH.  133 

pression  to  a  stranger  of  a  much  more  active 
commerce  than  really  exists.  The  canal  it- 
self is  much  too  narrow  for  the  convenient 
passage  of  the  vessels  employed  on  it;  and 
as  none  but  the  very  smallest  of  these  can 
move,  except  at  the  top  of  high  v^^ater,  they 
are  often  all  in  motion  at  once.  Boats 
grounding  in  their  passage  lie  until  the  next 
flood  floats  them,  and  laden  vessels  losing 
the  springs,  sometimes  lie  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  channel  until  the  ensuing  spring, 
blocking  up  the  passage  entirely  for  smaller 
vessels,  which  might  otherwise  have  water 
enough,  but  for  which  room  is  not  left  to  pass. 
For  the  conveyance  of  passengers  on  this 
canal,  small  caAoes,  called  here  bellem,  are 
employed ;  and  these  having  a  clean  mat  in 
the  bottom  for  the  seat,  and  a  light  awning 
over  head  to  shade  it,  are  pushed  along  by 
the  two  boatmen  who  stand  in  the  head  and 
stern,  and  with  long  poles  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose, give  the  canoe  sufficient  velocity  to 
keep  up  with  a  well-manned  four-oared  boat. 
These  are  the  smallest  vessels  seen,  and  these, 
from  having  only  a  draught  of  a  few  inches, 
can  be  used  at  any  time  of  the  tide,  except  at 
dead  low  water.     From  these,  there  are  boats 


134  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

of  all  sizes,  up  to  vessels  of  fifty  tons,  which 
are  the  largest  that  I  remember  to  have  seen 
on  the  canal.  The  canoes  are  often  very 
long  and  narrow,  and  from  the  peculiar  finish 
of  their  prows  have  a  light  and  elegant  form. 
The  most  usual  way  of  impelling  them  along 
the  stream  is  by  the  use  of  the  bamboo  poles  ; 
but  they  are  sometimes  rowed  by  short  pad- 
dles, which  are  used  by  the  rowers  alternately 
from  side  to  side,  and  then  present  the  ap- 
pearance so  graphically  described  in  Arrian's 
report  of  the*  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  when  the 
fishermen  whom  they  saw  at  Kophos,  in  boats 
similar  to  these  described,  were  said  to  have 
their  oars  not  fastened  to  their  rowlocks,  as 
in  Greek  vessels,  but  to  hold  them  in  the 
hand,  so  that  they  seemed  to  dig  the  water, 
rather  than  to  row,  and  to  toss  it  up  as  a 
labourer  throws  up  earth  with  his  spade.* 

There  are  also  circular  boats  made  of  bas- 
ket-work, and  covered  with  bitumen,  which 
are  from  six  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  of 
shallow  draught,  and  capable  of  carrying  six 
or  eight  persons.  These  are  used  both  on 
the  canal  and  on  the  river,  and  are  paddled 

*  Voyage   of  Nearchus,   (§.  28.)  Dr.  Vincent's  translation, 
vol.  i.  pp.  41,  42.  4to. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH.  135 

or  spun  along,  for  they  make  chiefly  a  cir- 
cular motion,  with  sufficient  ease.  They  are 
called  here  kufa,  and  seem  to  be  of  the  same 
kind  as  those  circular  boats  made  of  reeds, 
and  in  the  form  of  a  shield,  which  are  noticed 
by  Herodotus  as  in  use  on  the  river  of  Baby- 
lon upwards  of  £000  years  ago.^ 

There  is  still  another  species  of  boat  used 
principally  for  heavy  burthens  ;  this  is  called 
a  donak,  but,  from  the  singularity  of  its  form, 
it  is  not  easy  to  be  described.  It  rises  at 
each  end  with  so  much  sheer  as  to  be  nearly 
like  a  crescent,  but  falls  out  above,  where  the 
sheer  is  deepest,  or  near  the  centre  of  the 
boat's  length,  as  if  the  timbers  had  been  all 
twisted  from  their  original  place.  The  bot- 
tom is  quite  flat,  and  the  stem  and  stern  rise 
to  a  considerable  height  from  the  water,  fall- 
ing at  the  same  time  inward,  like  the  horns 
of  the  moon ;  and  the  whole  is  covered  with 
a  thick  coat  of  bitumen. 

The  rest  of  the  vessels  employed  on  the 
canal  are  of  the  common  form  used  through- 
out the  Persian  and  Arabian  Gulfs ;  and, 
notwithstanding  their  inelegant  forms  above 

*   Herodotus,  Clio,  cxciv. 


136  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

water,  have  often  beautiful  bottoms,  and  are 
strongly  built. 

The  whole  of  these  canals,  with  all  their 
dependent  channels,  are  merely  dug  out  of 
the  soil,  without  being  lined  with  artificial  em- 
bankments or  masonry  in  any  part  through- 
out their  entire  length ;  and  the  few  brick- 
built  bridges  that  are  thrown  across  them  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  are  of  the  mean- 
est kind. 

On  coming  from  the  river,  and  going  up 
to  Bussorah  by  the  central  canal,  the  entrance 
is  made  through  a  narrow  mouth,  with  a  cir- 
cular fort  on  the  left,  and  a  mosque  with  a 
small  minaret  on  the  right.  Several  houses 
follow  on  each  side,  those  on  the  left  being 
chiefly  timber-yards,  and  storehouses  of  arti- 
cles most  in  demand  for  the  use  of  boats  and 
shipping  ;  and  that  on  the  right,  called  El 
Mekam,  having  a  coasting  custom-house,  with 
a  coffee-house,  mosque,  and  the  dwellings  of 
those  whose  occupations  have  drawn  them  to 
reside  around  this  spot. 

The  portion  of  buildings  on  the  right  of 
the  canal  at  its  entrance  is  called  '  El  Mekam,' 
literally  the  place  of  residence  for  the  go- 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORaH.  137 

vernor's  lieutenant,^  and  was  formerly  the 
station  of  such  an  officer  from  the  Pasha  of 
Bussorah,  who  had  his  own  palace  further  up 
in  the  city.  The  portion  of  buildings  on  the 
left  side  of  the  canal,  and  opposite  to  El 
Mekam  at  the  entrance,  is  called  '  Minawi.' 

In  the  time  of  Hossein  Pasha,  the  son  of 
Ali  Pasha,  both  of  them  mentioned  in  the 
Travels  of  Pietro  della  Valle  and  Tavernier, 
the  city  of  Bussorah  was  distant  nearly  two 
miles  from  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  Minawi 
was  then  a  distinct  village,  serving  as  the  port 
or  landing-place.  It  was  this  Hossein  who 
extended  the  walls  of  the  former  town  down 
to  the  river,  and  enclosed  the  village  of  Min- 
awi within  it,  by  which  means  all  the  inter- 
mediate fields  and  gardens  which  had  never 
before,  nor  have  even  since  been  built  upon, 
became  incorporated  with  the  rest.  The 
newly  enclosed  village  was  then  fortified  by 

*  ^liU  1st.  A  place  of  residence,  a  dwelling,  a  mansion. 
2d.  State,  dignity,  condition.  Thus,  .ti^  ^(j»  from  ^ti' stand- 
ing in,  fixed  in,  &c.  and  .|^  a  place,  forms  the  Arabic,  Turk- 
ish, and  Persian  title  of  Kaim.  Mekam,  meaning  a  lieutenant, 
vicegerent ;  and  as  such  is  applied  to  the  deputy  governor  of 
Constantinople,  or  to  any  other  locum  tenens. — Richardson's 
Arabic  Diet ionar J/,  p.  1809. 


138  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

a  strong  wall  continued  all  around  it,  and 
formed  nearly  an  eighth  of  the  whole  space 
enclosed  within  the  walls  of  Bussorah,  even 
when  thus  extended. 

Dr.  Vincent,  in  endeavouring  to  prove  the 
etymology  of  Talmena,  one  of  the  stations  of 
Nearchus,  as  given  by  Arrian,  to  be  from  a 
ruined  fort,  takes  the  Tal  from  the  Hebrew 
for  a  ruined  heap,  and  Mina  from  the  Arabic 
for  a  fort,  which  he  supports  by  saying  that 
Mina,  Minau,  at  the  Anamis,  and  Minavi  at 
Basra,  are  all  expressive  of  a  fort.  ^  But  this 
is  not  true,  as  Mina  in  Arabic  signifies  a  port, 
or  anchoring-place  for  ships,-)-  as  well  as  a 
landing-place  for  boats,  and  answers  exactly 
to  the  Italian  term  Scala,  which  is  used 
throughout  the  Mediterranean  for  similar 
places.  On  the  coast  of  Syria,  the  town  of 
TripoH  is  about  a  mile  or  two  from  the  sea, 
and  the  landing  and  anchoring  place  before  it 
it  is  called  El  Mina.  This  is  the  case  also 
at  Latikea,  just  above  it ;  and  even  in  Egypt, 
where  towns  are  at  a  little  distance  from  the 

*  Commerce  of  the  Ancients  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  vol.  i.  p. 
263.  4to. 

t  Uuu  a  port,  haven,  harbour,  an  anchoring-ground  for  ships. 
— Richardson,  p.  1922. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH.  139 

river,  as  Cairo,  Manfalout,  and  Assiout,  the 
places  at  which  the  boats  land  are  called  El 
Mina,  or  the  port  of  the  town,  to  which  it 
serves  as  such.  In  no  one  instance  do  I  re- 
member the  application  of  this,  or  even  a  term 
like  it  in  sound,  to  a  fort,  in  any  of  the  nu- 
merous dialects  of  Arabia  which  I  have  heard 
spoken. 

After  passing  the  Mekam  on  the  right,  and 
Minawi  on  the  left,  the  rest  of  the  way  up  to 
the  city  by  the  canal  is  bordered  by  a  public 
road  on  the  southern  side,  and  date-trees  and 
gardens  on  the  northern,  for  about  half  a  mile 
or  more ;  and  though  the  canal,  from  being 
narrow  and  low,  is  exceedingly  hot  in  the  day- 
time, the  sun  beating  on  it  with  full  power, 
and  the  high  banks  keeping  off  all  wind,  yet, 
at  the  cool  time  of  morning  or  evening,  when 
the  water  is  high  flood,  the  passage  up  and 
down  is  agreeable. 

At  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  from  the 
entrance  of  the  canal,  the  houses  of  Bussorah 
are  first  met  with,  and  these  are  most  thickly 
placed  on  the  southern  side.  Somewhat  less 
than  a  mile  further  up  is  the  British  Fac- 
tory, which,  presenting  a  circular  brick  wall 
toward   the   river   with  arched  windows  or 


140  DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH. 

ports,  and  having  a  large  gate  towards  the 
creek,  with  sentries,  flag-staff,  &c.  has  all  the 
appearance  of  a  fortress,  and  is  indeed  by  far 
the  best  building  to  be  seen  in  the  whole  city. 

Within  the  next  quarter  of  a  mile  above 
this  is  the  Seraia,  or  palace  of  the  Mutesellim^ 
and  the  Custom-house,  both  of  them  build- 
ings of  the  meanest  kind,  and  in  the  worst 
state  of  repair  ;  and  just  above  this  last,  the 
bridge  that  crosses  the  canal  in  a  line  from 
the  Bagdad  gate,  renders  it  unnavigable  fur- 
ther up,  though  the  stream  itself  continues 
till  it  reaches  the  other  extremity  of  the 
town. 

The  rise  of  water  in  this  canal  is  about 
eight  feet  perpendicular  with  the  flood  of 
spring  tides,  and  six  feet  with  the  flood  of 
the  neaps,  and  at  low  water  it  is  nearly  dry. 
The  time  of  high  water  at  the  full  and 
change  is  five  p.  m.,  or  about  an  hour  earlier 
than  it  is  in  the  middle  of  the  river  opposite 
to  the  point  of  this  canal's  discharge. 

The  space  actually  occupied  by  buildings 
does  not  comprise  more  than  one-fourth  of 
that  which  is  enclosed  within  the  walls  of 
Bussorah,  the  rest  being  laid  out  in  corn- 
fields, rice-grounds,  date-groves,  and  gardens ; 


DESCRIPTION    OP^    BUSSORAH.  141 

in  this  respect  it  has  been  very  aptly  com- 
pared to  ancient  Babylon,  a  great  portion  of 
which  seems,  by  the  account  of  all  the  his- 
torians who  have  described  it,  to  have  been 
laid  out  in  the  same  way.  The  buildings 
themselves  are  badly  planned  and  construct- 
ed, and  are  mostly  as  deficient  even  in  what 
are  held  by  their  occupiers  to  be  conveni- 
ences and  comforts,  as  they  are  to  the  eyes  of 
a  stranger  destitute  of  beauty. 

From  the  want  of  stones,  which  are  here 
scarcely  to  be  found  or  met  with  in  a  journey 
of  many  miles,  the  walls  of  the  city,  as  well 
as  by  far  the  greater  number  of  dwellings 
within  it,  are  built  of  sun-dried  bricks.  The 
few  houses  that  have  kiln-dried  bricks  in 
their  walls,  are  too  inconsiderable  in  num- 
ber to  form  an  exception,  and  are  confined 
to  the  British  factory,  the  Seraia  of  the  Mute- 
sellim,  one  or  two  of  the  principal  mosques, 
and  perhaps  half  a  dozen  mansions  of  rich 
men  in  different  parts  of  the  town.  The 
scarcity  and  consequent  high  price  of  wood, 
occasions  the  trunk  of  the  date-tree  to  be 
almost  the  only  sort  employed  in  building ; 
and  this,  from  its  fibrous  nature,  cannot  be 
wrought  into  a  regular  shape  by  all  the  art 


142  DESCRIPTION   OF    BUSSORAH. 

of  carpentry.  Stone  and  wood  are  therefore 
rarely  seen,  and  the  buildings,  from  the  neces- 
sary confinement  to  such  materials  as  are  used 
in  them,  are  all  of  the  meanest  appearance. 

In    assigning   an    etymology  to  Bussorah, 
Dr.  Vincent  says,  '  Basra,  Bozra,  and  Bosara, 
is    a  name    applicable   to  any  town    in    the 
Desert,  as  it  signifies  rough  or  stony  ground ; 
and  thus  we  have  a  Bosara  in  Ptolemy  near 
Muskat,  and  a  Bozra,  familiar  in  Scripture, 
denoting  an  Arabian  town  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Judea,    taken  by  the   Maccabees.'* 
The  Hebrew  signification,  as  applied  to  the 
Bozra  of  the    Scriptures,  is    consistent  and 
appropriate,  since  that  town  is  really  seated 
on  rough  and  stony  ground,  and  so  probably 
was  the    Bosara  of   Ptolemy  near   Muskat, 
judging  from  the   general  character  of  the 
country  there.     The  Arabic  Bussra,  (for  that 
is  the  nearest  pronunciation  of  the  name  ya^) 
though  allied  perhaps  to  the  Hebrew  Bozra 
or  Botzra,  has  yet  some  distinguishing  fea- 

*  Golius  ad  Alfrag.  p.  120.  Terra  crassa  et  lapidosa.  But 
see  myu  under  *iyn.  Botsrath  desertvm  a  Batzar  dausit,  quia 
clauduntur  aquse.  From  hence,  adds  the  Dean,  Bazar  for  an 
emporium,  and  urbs  munita,  quia  circumclauditur,  to  which  the 
Bursa  of  Carthage  is  allied  »—Fmce;if '5  Commerce  of  the  Ancient s^ 
<^  c.  vol.  i.  p.  436,  note. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    BUSSORAH.  143 

tures  of  difference,  'i^  is  interpreted,  1st. 
Whitish  stones.  2d.  A  kind  of  earth,  out  of 
which  they  dig  such  stones.  3d.  The  city  of 
Basra  or  Bassora,  as  seated  on  such  ground. 
The  whitish  stones  cannot  be  the  meaning  of 
the  name  either  of  Bozra  in  Syria,  or  of  Bus- 
sorah  on  the  Euphrates,  as  the  former  is  on 
a  bed  of  black  basaltic  rock  ;  and  in  the  latter 
there  are  no  stones  of  any  description  at  all. 
Although  this  name  is  applied  equally  to  the 
earth,  out  of  which  such  stones  are  dug,  I 
could  not  learn,  during  my  stay  here,  that  the 
earth  of  Bussorah  at  all  produced  any  such 
stones ;  and  the  only  difference  between  the 
soil  of  the  present  town,  and  that  of  the  old 
city,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  near  Zo- 
beir,  is  that  the  one  is  more  sandy  than  the 
other;  but  both  are  equally  destitute  of  stones. 
There  is  another  meaning  given  to^^  as  sig- 
nifying '  the  side,  border,  or  margin,'  a  sense 
that  would  apply  to  the  Hebrew  Bozra,  as  it 
was  the  easternmost  town  of  note  in  all  the 
Hauran,  and  '  bordered'  upon  the  country  of 
the  Nabateans,  but  still  more  suitably  to  Bus- 
sorah, which  was  upon  the  '  side  and  margin' 
of  Arabia  itself,  and  near  the  banks  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, which  in  all  ages  has  been  considered 


144  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 

as  its  eastern  boundary  by  land.  The  He- 
brew and  the  Arabic  names,  though  differ- 
ently spelt  by  us,  who  know  and  preserve  the 
distinction  between  them,  are  written  and 
pronounced  exactly  alike  by  the  respective 
inhabitants  of  each,  who,  it  is  true,  are  all 
Arabs.  The  word  Bazar  ^yj  is  of  a  different 
origin  in  its  root,  and  of  different  orthogra- 
phy, and  means  equally  a  place  where  goods 
are  publicly  sold,  or  the  act  of  bargaining 
for  purchase  and  sale  in  private,  and  does 
not  seem  allied  to  either  of  the  others. 

The  population  of  Bussorah  has  varied  at 
different  periods  of  its  history  from  500,000 
to  about  50,000  inhabitants.  The  former  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  maooimum  of  its 
most  flourishing  state ;  the  latter  the  mini- 
mum, after  the  dreadful  ravages  of  the  plague 
in  1773 — when  upwards  of  300,000  souls  are 
said  to  have  fallen  victims  to  this  destructive 
scourge.  It  is  true  that  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Niebuhr's  passage  through  this  place,  which 
was  in  1764,  he  supposed  the  population 
scarcely  to  have  exceeded  40,000  ;  and  by  a 
calculation  of  one  hundred  houses  to  each 
of  the  seventy  mehalles  or  parishes  of  the 
city,  and  seven  dwellers  to  each  house,  which 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  145 

he  thought  was  the  utmost  that  could  be 
allowed,  the  number  made  only  49,000.  But 
in  an  interval  of  nine  years,  which  passed 
until  the  plague  of  1773,  great  changes  might 
have  been  effected  in  the  state  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  a  surplus  population 
of  a  still  greater  number  have  been  drawn 
to  the  city,  by  causes  which  offered  brighter 
prospects  to  the  inhabitants  of  it.  Such  sud- 
den changes  are  not  uncommon  in  the  great 
cities  of  the  Eastern  world,  and  more  par- 
ticularly in  those  which,  like  Bussorah,  are 
frequently  exposed  to  become  subject  to  dif- 
ferent masters,  and  be  contended  for  as  a 
frontier  post  between  two  warring  powers, 
and  whose  prosperity,  even  in  times  of  poli- 
tical  tranquillity,  depends  on  so  precarious  a 
foundation  as  foreign  trade. 

At  the  present  moment,  while  it  enjoys 
sufficient  security  from  all  dangers  without, 
and  is  subject  to  its  old  masters  the  Turks, 
who  preserve  good  order  within,  the  popula- 
tion is  on  the  increase,  and  may  amount  alto- 
gether to  nearly  100,000  souls.  About  one- 
half  of  these  are  Arabs,  one-fourth  Persians, 
and  the  remaining  fourth  a  mixture  of  Turks, 
Armenians,  Indians,  Jews,  and  Catholic  Chris- 

VOL.    II.  I. 


146  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 

tians,  with  a  few  Koords  from  the  mountains 
of  Koordistan,  and  a  small  portion  of  the 
Arab  Christians,  called  Subbees,  or  disciples 
and  followers  of  John  the  Baptist. 

The  Arabs  are  mostly  persons  born  in  the 
town,  or  in  its  immediate  neighbourhood, 
with  occasional  settlers  from  Bagdad,  Kourna, 
and  the  villages  along  the  banks  of  the  Ti- 
gris and  Euphrates,  as  well  as  some  few 
Desert  Arabs  from  the  country  of  Nedjed, 
and  trading  people  from  Coete,  or  Graine, 
the  great  sea-port  of  that  part  of  Arabia. 
The  occupations  of  the  Arab  population  are 
chiefly  commercial  among  the  higher  order, 
and  labour  and  cultivation  among  the  lower. 
The  religion  of  both  is  of  the  Soonnee  sect  of 
Mohammedism,  and  they  are  in  general  suffi- 
ciently tolerant  to  those  of  a  different  faith. 
The  dress  of  the  merchants,  who  are  origi- 
nally of  Bussorah,  as  well  as  those  who  come 
from  Moosul  and  Bagdad,  differs  but  little 
from  that  of  the  same  class  of  people  in  Sy- 
ria, except  that  it  is  here  gayer  and  more 
costly  in  the  same  rank  of  life.  Indian 
muslins  and  Angora  shalloons  are  worn  in 
the  summer ;  but  fine  broad  cloths,  of  the 
brightest  colours,  Indian   stuffs,   and   Cash- 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  147 

meer  shawls,  form  the  winter  apparel ;  and 
these  are  displayed  in  such  variety,  as  to 
make  the  wardrobe  of  a  well-dressed  man 
exceedingly  expensive.  The  Arabs  from  Ned- 
jed,  and  those  from  Coete  or  Graine,  wear 
invariably  the  Bedouin  handkerchief,  called 
Maharama  and  Keffeea;  the  poorer  people 
bind  them  round  their  heads,  with  bands  of 
camel's  hair  thread,  made  into  a  sort  of  rope  ; 
but  the  wealthier  class,  although  they  are 
clad  in  the  most  costly  robes,  still  retain  this 
mark  of  their  Desert  origin,  and  sometimes 
even  wear  a  rich  Indian  shawl  as  a  turban 
over  it,  while  the  long  ends  of  the  coarse 
Bedouin  keffeea  hang  over  their  shoulders, 
forming  a  singular  mixture  of  the  costumes 
of  the  Desert  and  the  town.  The  light  Bag- 
dad cloak,  in  alternate  stripes  of  reddish  brown 
and  white,  are  worn  by  all  in  the  summer; 
and  thicker  abbas,  of  a  similar  form  and  pat- 
tern, by  the  poor  in  the  winter  ;  but  the  rich 
at  this  season  wear  fine  thick  cloaks  of  a 
black  colour,  with  a  broad  and  deep  three- 
forked  stripe  of  gold,  woven  into  the  cloth, 
and  descending  from  the  top  of  the  right 
shoulder  down  the  back. 

The  Persian  part  of  the  population  of  Bus- 
I.  2 


148  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 

sorah  are  all  of  the  Sheeah  sect  of  Moslems  ; 
but  as  their  party  is  the  weakest,  they  con- 
ceal the  hatred  with  which  this  religious  dis- 
tinction inspires  them  towards  the  Turks  and 
Arabs  as  Soonnees ;  and  even  their  peculiar 
fasts  and  festivals  are,  for  the  same  reason, 
observed  with  some  degree  of  privacy.  The 
rich  among  them  are  mostly  merchants,  who 
have  commercial  relations  with  their  coun- 
trymen settled  at  the  chief  ports  in  India, 
and  with  others  in  Shooster  and  the  higher 
parts  of  Persia,  but  seldom  further  north 
than  Bagdad,  as  the  Aleppo  and  Damascus 
trades  are  in  the  hands  of  Arabs.  The  lower 
classes  of  the  Persian  population  are  occu- 
pied mostly  as  writers,  servants,  shopkeepers, 
and  mechanics  ;  in  all  which  professions  or 
stations,  their  superior  activity,  industry,  in- 
sinuating manners,  ingenuity,  and  address, 
are  conspicuous  ;  and  while  among  the  Arabs 
a  man  is  either  a  merchant  in  easy  circum-- 
stances,  or  a  mere  labourer,  Persians  are 
found  filling  most  of  the  intermediate  sta- 
tions, and  rising  by  their  own  exertions  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest  ranks.  The  dress 
of  the  Persians  differs  but  little  from  that 
which  is  common  to  all  the  parts  of  Persia 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSOllAH.  149 

which  I  have  seen,  excepting  only  that  the 
black  sheep's-skin  cap  is  exchanged  for  the 
shawl  or  muslin  turban,  and  the  scarlet  em- 
broidered coat  for  the  Arab  cloak.  These, 
however,  are  sufficient  to  alter  the  appear- 
ance of  the  dress  so  much,  that  a  stranger 
would  not  easily  distinguish  a  Persian  from 
an  Arab  inhabitant  of  Bussorah.  Some,  in- 
deed, both  among  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
adopt  the  Arab  costume  entirely  ;  and  then 
it  is  only  by  the  characteristic  features  of 
their  race,  and  by  their  peculiar  manner  of 
pronouncing  the  Arabic  language,  that  they 
can  be  known. 

The  Turks  are  very  few  in  number,  and 
are  almost  all  in  offices  of  trust  under  the 
Government,  or  otherwise  personally  attach- 
ed to  the  Governor  himself.  This  man,  who 
is  called  here  the  Mutesellim,  or  literally  the 
Lieutenant  of  the  Pasha  of  the  province,  is 
himself  a  native  of  Bussorah,  but  of  Turk- 
ish descent ;  and  having  been  many  years  at 
Constantinople,  and  served  several  campaigns 
against  the  Russians,  he  is  much  more  a  Turk 
than  an  Arab.  The  officers  attached  to  him 
are  principally  Turks  by  family,  but  born  in 
towns  remote  from  the  metropolis,  as  Moosul, 


150  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 

Bagdad,  and  Bussorah.  All  these,  however, 
preserve  the  Turkish  kaook  of  Constantinople 
as  a  distinguishing  mark  of  dress  ;  their  other 
garments  differing  in  nothing  from  those  of 
the  well-dressed  merchants  of  the  place.  Few 
as  are  these  Turks  in  number,  and  never  at 
any  time  perhaps  exceeding  five  hundred, 
they  maintain  firm  possession  of  the  city, 
with  the  aid  of  a  small  number  of  Georgians, 
Koords,  Arabs,  and  Persians,  who  are  paid 
by  the  Government  as  soldiers,  but  who  fur- 
nish their  own  arms  and  clothing,  and  are 
the  most  undisciplined  rabble  that  can  be 
imagined.  The  horse  are  estimated  at  1500, 
but  that  number  is  seldom  complete,  and  the 
foot  are  composed  of  five  companies  or  Bei- 
raks,  of  nominally  one  hundred  muskets  each. 
There  are  about  fifty  of  the  best  of  these  who 
are  selected  as  a  body  guard  for  the  Mutesel- 
lim,  and  who  accompany  him  to  the  mosques 
on  Fridays,  and  attend  him  on  state  occa- 
sions. These  are  foot  soldiers  and  muske- 
teers, and  they  are  distinguished  by  a  uniform 
dress  of  red  jackets,  seamed  with  black  cord, 
the  full  blue  Turkish  trowsers,  white  turbans, 
and  English  muskets,  with  black  cartouch- 
box  and  belts.     This  is  the  only  instance  of 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  151 

uniform  that  I  remember  among  the  soldiers 
of  either  the  Arabs,  the  Turks,  or  the  Persians, 
and  has,  I  think,  been  occasioned  by  the  con- 
stant station  of  the  British  Resident's  guard 
here,  and  the  frequent  arrival  of  East  India 
Company's  cruisers  and  merchant  vessels,  with 
disciplined  sepoys  on  board.  The  Tefenkchee 
Bashee,  or  chief  of  these  musketeers,  wears 
the  large  fur  cap  of  the  Bagdad  soldiers  ;  but 
all  his  inferiors,  with  the  exception  of  the 
body  guard  already  mentioned,  dress  in  their 
own  way,  and  just  as  their  means  allow,  ex- 
cept that  each  Beirak  or  company  has  some 
trifling  mark  by  which  it  is  distinguished 
from  others. 

In  personal  appearance,  the  Turks  of  Bus- 
sorah  are  far  below  those  of  Asia  Minor  and 
the  large  towns  of  Syria,  and  still  more  in- 
ferior to  those  of  Smyrna  and  Constantinople, 
both  in  strength  of  frame,  fairness  of  com- 
plexion, and  general  beauty  of  person.  The 
degeneration  has  been  effected  probably  by 
several  united  causes  ;  such  as  a  mixture  with 
Arab  blood,  the  use  of  negro  slaves,  and  long 
residence  in  a  hot  and  unhealthy  climate.  In 
character  they  have  a  good  deal  of  the  gravity, 
resignation,  and  attachment  to  old  customs, 


152  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSOHAH. 

which  distinguish  the  Turks  of  the  north  ; 
but  they  do  not  appear  to  inherit  their  love 
of  ostentatious  display,  their  haughty  car- 
riage towards  those  of  a  different  faith,  their 
polite  and  courtly  manners  towards  their 
friends,  nor  their  proud  and  unbending  cou- 
rage against  their  enemies.  They  possess  a 
power  equally  despotic  with  that  of  other 
Turks  ruling  over  Arab  towns  ;  but  they  use 
it,  certainly,  with  almost  unexampled  mode- 
ration :  the  consequence  of  this  is,  that  their 
government  is  popular  with  all  classes,  and 
there  is  scarcely  an  Arab  inhabitant  of  the 
city,  who  would  not  prefer  the  reign  of  the 
Osmanli  or  Turkish  authority  to  that  of  any 
Ara,b  Sheikh,  and  who  would  not  take  up 
arms  to  defend  it. 

The  Armenians  of  Bussorah  do  not  at  pre- 
sent exceed  fifty  families,  though  formerly 
they  were  much  more  numerous.  They  are 
here,  as  throughout  all  the  rest  of  the  Turk- 
ish Empire,  a  sober,  industrious,  and  intelli- 
gent race  of  people,  engaged  in  occupations 
of  trust  as  brokers,  and  doing  business  also 
for  themselves  as  merchants.  Their  dress  dif- 
fers in  nothing  from  that  of  the  rich  natives 
of  the  place,  except  that  they  confine  them- 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 


153 


selves  to  dark-coloured  cloths  for  their  gar- 
ments, and  wear  blue,  black,  and  brown  Cash- 
meer  shawls  for  turbans,  never  assuming  the 
gay  tints  reserved  for  the  adorning  of  the 
faithful ;  though  at  this  place  there  seems 
more  laxity  in  the  execution  of  the  law  en- 
forcing distinctions  of  dress  and  colours  to  be 
worn  by  people  of  different  faiths,  than  in 
most  other  Turkish  towns  that  I  have  seen. 
The  Armenians  communicate  with  each  other 
in  their  own  language  ;  but  in  general  they 
speak  Turkish,  Persian,  and  Arabic,  equally 
well ;  and  some  few  add  to  these,  English, 
Portuguese,  and  Hindostanee,  which  gives 
them  great  advantages  in  their  mercantile 
transactions.  They  have  a  small  church,  and 
two  or  three  priests  attached  to  it,  and  their 
community  is  respectable  and  happy.  An  in- 
stance was  related  to  me  of  their  strict  atten- 
tion to  the  reputation  of  their  body,  which 
deserves  to  be  recorded  : — A  young  widow, 
who  had  been  left  without  a  protector,  and 
was  sufficiently  handsome  to  have  snares  laid 
for  her  virtue,  yielded  to  temptation,  and 
lived  for  a  short  time  as  the  mistress  of  a 
rich  person,  but  without  further  prostitution. 
The  circumstance  becoming   known,  it  was 


154  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSOKAH. 

decided  by  the  Armenians  that  their  nation 
was  scandalized  by  such  an  occurrence ;  and 
their  influence  was  sufficient  to  get  this  fair 
sinner  banished  from  the  town,  and  sent  to 
Bagdad,  where  they  furnished  her  with  a 
maintenance  from  their  body,  to  prevent  a 
recurrence  of  the  necessity  which  she  pleaded 
as  an  excuse  for  her  past  transgressions. 

The  Jews  of  Bussorah  are  also  less  nu- 
merous than  they  formerly  were,  though  at 
present  they  are  thought  to  amount  to  more 
than  one  hundred  families.  The  heads  of 
these  are  all  merchants  and  traders ;  and  as 
they  add  to  the  sobriety,  industry,  and  per- 
severance of  the  Armenians,  a  meanness,  a 
cunning,  and  a  disregard  of  principle,  which 
are  peculiar  to  them,  they  insinuate  them- 
selves into  all  affairs  of  business  that  are 
transacted  even  between  strangers,  and  are 
not  only  jn  general  the  greatest  gainers  in 
every  affair,  but  often  derive  a  profit  as  bro- 
kers and  agents,  when  the  principals  for 
whom  they  treat  may  lose.  They  form  here 
as  separate  a  body  as  in  all  other  parts  of 
the  globe,  living  only  among  themselves,  and 
preserving,  by  intermarriages  among  their 
own  immediate  offspring,  that  peculiarity  of 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSOllAH.  155 

feature  as  well  as  of  character,  which  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  the  one  end  of  the 
world  to  the  other.  Their  dress  differs  very 
little  from  that  of  the  wealthy  natives  of  the 
place,  except  in  their  confining  themselves, 
like  the  Armenians,  to  dark-coloured  gar- 
ments. Their  turban  is,  however,  peculiar  ; 
and  instead  of  the  overhanging  tarboosh  and 
full  shawl  of  the  Armenians,  it  is  formed 
of  a  flower-striped  silk  and  cotton  cloth, 
bound  tightly  round  a  red  cap  in  flat  folds, 
with  sometimes  a  border  of  fringe  at  the  edge. 
The  rich,  of  whom  there  are  many,  are  always 
well-dressed ;  the  poor  go  from  mediocrity 
down  to  filth  and  rags  ;  and  all  classes  wear 
their  beards  and  the  hanging  side-locks  which 
distinguish  their  sect  from  all  others.  Their 
common  language  is  Arabic  ;  though  among 
themselves,  and  in  correspondence  with  other 
Jews,  they  write  this  in  the  Hebrew  charac- 
ter ;  but  of  Turkish,  Persian,  or  any  other 
tongue,  there  are  few  who  know  enough  to 
transact  the  most  common  business,  which 
forms  a  great  feature  of  difference  between 
them  and  the  Armenians. 

The  Catholic  Christians  are  much  fewer 
in  number  than  either  of  the  last  mentioned. 


156  INHABITANTS   OF    BUSSORAH. 

and  do  not  at  present  exceed  twenty  families. 
Some  of  these  are  natives  of  Bussorah,  and 
others  are  recent  settlers  from  Bagdad  and 
Aleppo.  They  are  all  merchants  and  traders, 
and  are  distinguished  from  the  mass  only  by 
their  wearing  dark  turbans  ;  since  in  man- 
ners and  language  they  resemble  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  place.  These  have  a 
church  attached  to  the  hospital  of  the  Car- 
melite Friars,  which  has  long  existed  here. 
There  were  formerly  several  friars  of  that 
order  attached  to  the  Convent  as  mission- 
aries ;  and  until  within  these  few  years,  al- 
ways two  of  them.  At  present,  however, 
there  is  but  one,  who  is  an  old  Neapolitan  of 
about  sixty,  and  has  been  here  altogether 
nearly  thirty  years,  having  visited  Europe 
once  only  in  that  interval.  He  is  one  of  the 
most  uninformed  members  of  his  order  that 
I  remember  to  have  met  with,  and  after  so 
long  a  residence  in  the  country  can  scarcely 
speak  the  language  of  it  intelligibly.  His 
solitude  was  so  insupportable  when  he  lost 
his  last  companion,  that  he  became  a  most 
abandoned  drunkard  in  endeavouring  to 
cheer  it  by  the  bottle.  So  scandalous  was 
his  behaviour  during  the  period  of  constant 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  157 

inebriation,  that  his  flock  bound  him  by  the 
most  solemn  oaths  made  at  the  altar,  never 
to  taste  the  alluring  poison  again.  To  this 
he  rigidly  conforms  ;  but  it  costs  him,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  confession,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
only  consolation  which  he  enjoyed  on  this 
side  the  grave ! 

The  Subbees  are  a  sect  of  Christians,  who 
call  themselves  disciples  and  followers  of  John 
the  Baptist,  and  their  community  consists  of 
about  thirty  families.  They  dress  so  exactly 
like  the  Arabs  of  the  place,  that  there  is  no 
means  of  discovering  them  by  their  exterior, 
and  their  language  and  general  manners  are 
also  the  same  with  those  of  the  Mohammedan 
inhabitants  of  the  town.  The  chief  seat  of 
these  Subbees  is  Kourna,  at  the  conflux  of 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  ;  and  at  that  place 
their  Bishop,  and  upwards  of  a  hundred  fa- 
milies, reside.  There  are  also  some  few  at 
Shookashoaah,  a  large  Arab  town  higher 
up,  and  they  are  scattered  over  the  plain 
country  of  Khusistan,  at  Shooster,  Dezhpool, 
and  other  places  there  ;  but  their  limits  are 
very  narrow,  and  their  whole  body  collectively 
is  thought  to  be  less  than  a  thousand  families. 
They  possess  a  Gospel  of  their  own,  which  is 


158  INHABITANTS    OP    BUSSORAH. 

written  in  a  dialect  of  the  Chaldaic,  but  with 
characters  peculiar  to  themselves,  of  which 
Mr.  Niebuhr  has  given  an  alphabet,  though 
he  seems  to  have  collected  no  other  informa- 
tion regarding  them.  This  gospel  enters  at 
large  into  the  genealogy,  birth,  and  educa- 
tion of  John  the  Baptist,  with  his  separate 
history  until  the  time  of  his  baptizing  Jesus, 
when  the  histories  and  acts  of  both  are 
treated  of  in  continuation  ;  but  in  what  par- 
ticulars their  version  accords  with,  or  differs 
from  any  of  those  received  among  us,  I  could 
not  learn  ;  as,  in  the  first  place,  the  book 
itself  is  not  easily  to  be  procured  from  their 
priests,  and  in  the  next  it  would  require 
either  a  knowledge  of  their  language,  or  a 
translation  of  it  by  them  into  Arabic,  to  un- 
derstand it,  neither  of  which  was  it  in  my 
power  to  obtain.  This  gospel  is  attributed 
by  them  to  John  the  Baptist  himself,  and  it 
is  their  sole  authority  in  all  matters  of  faith 
and  doctrine.  They  have  besides,  however, 
a  book  of  prayers  and  precepts,  with  direc- 
tions for  ceremonials,  which  they  ascribe  to 
the  learned  men  of  their  sect,  who  imme- 
diately succeeded  their  great  leader.  They 
admit  the  divinity   of  Jesus,  as  Christ,  the 


i 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  159 

Son  of  God,  and  conceive  that  John  the 
Baptist  is  to  be  honoured  as  his  fore-run- 
ner, and  as  the  person  selected  by  God  to 
perform  the  most  holy  sacrament  of  baptism 
on  his  child ;  but  what  are  their  notions 
regarding  the  Trinity  I  could  not  learn. 
They  are  distinguished  from  all  other  Chris- 
tians by  their  frequent  repetition  of  this  sa- 
crament on  the  same  person,  who,  in  other 
churches,  would  receive  it  but  once.  It  is 
said,  even,  that  every  individual  of  their 
body  is  baptized  annually  on  some  particular 
occasion  ;  but  whether  this  is  a  fixed  day  for 
all,  or  peculiar  festivals  chosen  by  the  indi- 
viduals themselves,  does  not  appear.  This, 
however,  is  certain,  that  on  all  important 
changes,  or  undertakings,  or  events  of  their 
life,  baptism  is  re-administered.  The  child 
at  its  birth  is  baptized  ;  when  named  it  is 
baptized  again ;  on  completing  the  age  of 
puberty  it  is  also  baptized ;  and  whether 
contracting  marriage,  becoming  the  parent 
of  children,  undertaking  a  journey,  recover- 
ing from  sickness,  or  any  other  important 
event,  as  well  as  after  death,  and  before 
interment,  baptism  is  re-administered  with 
all  the  solemnity  of  the  first  occasion.     The 


160     RELIGIOUS   CEREMONIES    OF    THE    SUBBEES." 

prayers  used  at  their  marriages  and  funerals 
are  said  to  be  long :  the  first  is  a  ceremony 
performed  among  themselves  in  some  degree 
of  privacy  ;  but  the  latter  is  conducted  open- 
ly, without  their  being  interrupted  in  it  by 
any  one.  They  have  no  standing  church, 
since  their  places  of  worship  must  be  newly 
erected  for  every  new  occasion.  It  is  there- 
fore usual  with  them,  when  these  occasions 
occur,  to  make  an  enclosure  of  reeds,  when, 
after  a  most  tedious  process  of  purification, 
the  ground  becomes  consecrated,  and  they 
perform  their  worship  therein,  secluded  from 
the  eyes  of  strangers,  after  which  the  build- 
ing is  pulled  down  and  destroyed.  Their 
attention  to  the  purity  of  their  food  is  car- 
ried to  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  equals 
that  of  the  highest  caste  of  Bramins  in  In- 
dia. No  water  that  is  not  drawn  from  the 
river  by  themselves  in  their  own  vessels,  and 
even  after  that  suffered  to  subside,  and  be 
otherwise  purified  by  their  own  hands,  can 
be  drunk  by  them.  If  honey,  or  similar  ar- 
ticles, are  purchased  by  them  in  the  bazaar, 
it  must  have  purified  water  poured  on  it, 
and  remain  a  certain  time  covered  to  be 
cleansed  before  it  can  be  eaten ;    and  even 


RELIGIOUS  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  SUBBEES.  l6l 

fruit,  though  fresh  from  the  tree,  must  be 
similarly  washed,  to  be  purged  of  its  defile- 
ment. It  is,  however,  singular  enough,  that 
while  they  carry  this  attention  to  religious 
purity  of  food  to  a  degree  unknown  to  all 
other  sects  of  Christians,  abstinence  and  fasts 
should  be  held  in  abomination  by  them  ;  and 
that,  contrary  to  the  general  Christian  no- 
tion of  this  being  always  acceptable  to  God, 
and  tending  to  purge  the  soul,  as  well  as  the 
body,  of  impure  passions  and  desires,  the 
Subbees  regard  it  as  a  heinousi  sin,  and  as  a 
profanation  of  the  gifts  which  the  Creator 
has  so  bountifully  provided  for  his  creatures. 
In  their  moral  character,  they  are  neither 
esteemed  more  upright  nor  more  corrupt 
than  their  neighbours.  One  of  their  most 
distinguished  virtues  is  mutual  confidence 
in  each  other ;  and  a  breach  of  trust  in  any 
way  is  said  to  be  regarded  by  them  as  a 
more  damning  offence  than  murder,  forni- 
cation, and  adultery,  combined.  It  is,  no 
doubt,  this  peculiar  tenet,  added  to  their 
notions  of  defilement  from  strangers,  and 
the  constant  intermarriage  of  their  sons  and 
daughters  with  each  other,  which  keeps  them 
together,  like  the  Jews,  and  all  other  unso- 

VOL.    II.  M 


162        INDIANS   RESIDENT    AT    BUSSORAH. 

cial  castes  of  religion,  who  seek  not  to  aug- 
ment their  numbers  by  converts,  yet,  by  the 
selfishness  of  their  institutions,  preserve  them 
from  being  lessened  by  mingling  with  others. 
— The  heads  of  the  few  families  of  Subbees 
here  are  mostly  mechanics  and  handicrafts, 
more  particularly  as  smiths  and  workers  in 
metals ;  and  even  in  the  towns  enumerated, 
where  their  community  is  more  extensive, 
they  generally  confine  themselves  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  these  and  similar  trades,  without 
attaching  themselves  to  agriculture  or  the 
profession  of  arms  ;  in  which  particular  they 
resemble  the  Jews  of  Europe,  where  the  pro- 
fession of  the  stock-broker,  or  loan-raiser,  the 
art  of  the  goldsmith  or  jeweller,  and  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  pedlar,  are  those  mostly  fol- 
lowed, rather  than  the  Jews  of  Asia,  who 
confine  themselves  to  dealing  in  general  mer- 
chandize, and  are  seldom  seen  as  mechanics 
or  handicrafts  in  any  way. 

The  Indians  resident  in  Bussorah  are  chiefly 
Banians,  and  are  all  employed  as  merchants 
on  their  own  account,  and  as  brokers  and 
agents  for  others.  They  enjoy,  as  well  as 
the  Armenians,  the  countenance  and  protec- 
tion of  the  British  Resident;  the  heads  of 


INDIANS    RESIDENT    AT    BUSSORAH.         l6S 

both,  indeed,  are  actually  attached  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  East  India  Company  at  their  fac- 
tory. Some  of  them  have  direct  communi- 
cation with  merchants  of  their  own  caste  at 
Bombay  ;  but  more  of  them  trade  through 
the  medium  of  the  Banians  settled  at  Mus- 
cat, and  few  or  none  have  any  immediate 
transactions  of  trade  directly  with  Bengal. 
To  conform  in  some  degree  to  the  manners 
of  the  place,  the  turban  peculiar  to  the  Ba- 
nians of  India  is  laid  aside,  and  generally  a 
red  one,  half  in  the  Arab  and  half  in  the 
Indian  form,  is  substituted  in  its  place.  The 
rest  of  the  dress  is  a  mixture  of  the  Persian 
and  the  Arab,  without  being  exactly  either ; 
though  no  part  of  the  Indian  costume  seems 
to  be  retained,  and  by  most  of  them  even 
the  sectarial  mark  on  the  forehead  is  omitted 
to  be  worn.  There  is,  besides  all  these  ap- 
proximations to  foreign  usages,  a  sufficient 
laxity  to  show  that  the  scruples  even  of  Hin- 
doos, are  not  unconquerable  ;  and  that,  as 
among  all  other  sects  and  people,  these  take 
a  colouring  from  the  usages  around  them  : 
so  that  they  unbend  from  their  primitive 
rigour  before  the  slow  but  certain  influence 
of  long  continued  example  and  intercourse 

M  2 


164  EUROPEAN    FACTORIES. 

with  those  of  another  faith.  The  Sepoys  of 
the  Factory  guard  are  also  mostly  Hindoos  ; 
besides  which,  there  are  some  mechanics  at- 
tached to  the  establishment ;  and  these,  as 
they  live  more  among  themselves,  preserve 
their  Indian  habits  more  unchanged.  Some 
few  have  their  women  with  them  ;  but  by  far 
the  greater  number,  both  of  the  Banians  and 
the  soldiers,  live  without  wives.  Their  col- 
lective number  may  amount  to  about  two 
hundred  ;  and,  as  they  enjoy  as  free  exercise 
of  their  religion  as  could  be  had  without  ac- 
tually possessing  a  place  of  public  worship, 
and  are  not  in  any  way  molested,  either  by 
the  Government  or  by  individuals,  they  live 
in  ease  and  content. 

The  few  Koords  who  are  found  in  Busso- 
rah  are  not  sufficiently  numerous  to  form  a 
distinct  body ;  but  they  are  mostly  engaged 
in  inferior  offices  of  trust  under  the  Turks, 
and  in  the  profession  of  arms,  for  which  the 
habits  and  character  of  these  mountaineers 
are  admirably  adapted. 

Of  the  European  factories  here,  the  only 
ones  remaining  are  the  French  and  the  En- 
glish. The  former  of  these  has  merely  a 
nominal  existence,  since  the  Baron  Vigorouxj 


I 


FRENCH  VESSEL  ATTACKED  BY  PIRATES.    165 

who  holds  the  appointment,  resides  at  Bag- 
dad ;  and,  except  the  hoisting  of  the  white 
flag,  which  is  done  by  the  Catholic  Carmelite 
friar  on  Sundays,  there  is  no  other  duty 
which  a  Resident  would  have  to  execute. 
Some  hopes  of  a  renewal  of  the  French  trade 
were  excited  here  about  a  month  since,  by 
the  arrival  of  two  vessels  from  the  Mauritius 
to  Muscat,  under  that  flag;  but  the  end  of 
their  voyage  was  a  disastrous  one.  They 
were  represented  to  be  a  ship  and  a  schooner  ; 
the  former  armed  for  self-defence,  the  latter 
sailing  under  her  convoy,  but  having  mostly 
treasure  on  board,  intended  for  the  purchase 
of  cargoes  for  both.  On  passing  Ras-el-Had, 
and  conceiving  all  danger  to  be  over,  the 
ship  sent  on  the  schooner,  which  was  the  fast- 
est sailer,  towards  Muscat,  when,  it  falling 
calm,  they  became  separated  widely  apart.  At 
this  moment,  some  Joassamee  pirate-boats 
pulled  down  on  the  schooner,  and,  finding  no 
resistance,  plundered  her  of  every  dollar,  and 
stripped  even  the  vessel  and  her  crew  of  every 
thing  that  was  portable.  The  commander, 
complaining  of  this  treatment  towards  the 
subjects  of  a  nation  who  were  not  at  war  with 
them,  was  told,  that  he  might  congratulate 


166  ENGLISH    FACTORY. 

himself  on  being  known  to  them  as  a  French- 
man, since,  if  they  had  been  even  suspected 
to  have  been  English,  their  throats  would  have 
been  cut  without  distinction.  It  appears  that 
there  was  a  supercargo  on  board,  who  had  been 
formerly  in  the  service  of  the  Imaum  of  Mus- 
cat, and  who  understood  Arabic  sufficiently 
well  to  communicate  with  the  pirates,  which 
was  the  means  of  their  lives  being  spared. 
The  Joassamees  were  not  content,  however, 
with  plundering  the  vessel,  but  endeavoured 
to  scuttle  her  ;  and  men  were  employed  both 
on  the  outside  under  water,  and  on  the  inside 
below,  to  effect  this,  which  they  were  unable 
to  do  from  the  firm  way  in  which  the  vessel 
was  built,  and  their  want  of  proper  imple- 
ments. The  French  ship,  in  the  mean  time^ 
remained  becalmed  at  a  distance,  unable  to 
render  any  assistance  to  her  consort,  and  both 
the  vessels  afterwards  reached  Muscat  in 
safety ;  yet  the  object  of  the  voyage  was  en- 
tirely frustrated,  and  the  hopes  of  a  revival 
of  the  French  trade  at  Bussorah  consequently 
declined. 

The  English  factory  dates  its  origin  from 
the  first  visit  of  British  vessels  to  Bussorah, 
which  was  in  the  year  1640 ;  and  it  has  con- 


ENGLISH    FACTORY.  16? 

tinued  to  exist  almost  without  interruption 
ever  since.  The  building  itself,  or  the  resi- 
dence of  the  chief  of  the  factory,  has  been 
frequently  changed :  since  it  was,  at  one  time, 
in  the  very  centre  of  the  town ;  at  another, 
remote  from  the  city  altogether,  on  the  banks 
of  the  river,  at  a  place  called  Margill ;  and  it 
is  now  seated  on  the  southern  side  of  the  cen- 
tral creek,  leading  from  the  river  up  through 
the  town,  and  at  a  convenient  distance  from 
the  dwelling  of  the  Governor,  and  from  the 
public  custom-house.  The  present  factory, 
which  is  by  far  the  best  building  in  all  the 
town,  was  constructed  chiefly  by  a  former 
Resident,  Mr.  Manesty,  on  the  foundation  of 
an  old  building,  bought  chiefly  for  the  situ- 
ation it  held,  and  improved  and  added  to  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  it  a  convenient  abode 
for  the  Resident  and  all  his  dependants,  and 
accessible  to  the  boats  of  all  British  vessels  ar- 
riving in  the  river.  The  establishment  main- 
tained here  by  the  East  India  Company  is 
most  respectable,  and  the  expense  of  support- 
ing it  equal  to  about  5000/.  sterling  per  year ; 
to  compensate  which,  the  only  advantages  de- 
rived, are  the  safe  and  speedy  transmission  of 
dispatches  in  time  of  war,  and  protection  and 


168  BRITISH   RESIDENT    AT    BUSSORAH. 

accommodation  to  private  traders  coming  here 
from  India;  since  the  Company  are  thought 
to  lose  rather  than  gain  by  the  articles  which 
they  send  here  for  sale.  These  are  but  few 
in  number,  and  in  no  large  quantities,  being 
mostly  confined  to  metals  and  woollen  cloths, 
which  they  are  obliged  to  export  from  Eng- 
land, and  which  they  send  wherever  they  can 
get  a  market  for  them,  even  at  a  certain  loss. 
There  was  formerly  a  Resident  at  Bussorah 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Civil  Service  of 
India,  with  an  army-surgeon  attached  to  him  ; 
but  the  present  Agent  of  the  Company,  who 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  to  Mr.  Ma- 
nesty,  being  himself  a  medical  man,  is  con- 
stituted what  is  called  a  Resident  in  charge, 
and  receives  the  emoluments  of  both.  There 
are,  besides,  a  proper  number  of  brokers,  in- 
terpreters, chaoushes,  and  inferior  servants, 
and  a  Jemindar,  or  native  officer's  guard  of 
Sepoys,  from  the  Marine  Battalion  of  Bom- 
bay, lodged  in  barracks  attached  to  the  house. 
The  influence  enjoyed  by  the  Resident  is  con- 
siderable, as  might  be  expected  from  the  re- 
spectability of  his  establishment ;  the  frequent 
arrival  of  the  Company's  armed-vessels ;  the 
extensive  trade  with  India  in  British  ship- 


TRADE    OF    BUSSOllAH.  169 

ping ;  and  the  presence  of  a  superior  at  the 
Court  of  the  Pasha  of  Bagdad,  to  whom  im- 
mediate apphcation  can  be  made  for  redress 
of  grievances ;  and  all  these  advantages  are 
still  further  strengthened  by  the  personal  cha- 
racter of  the  present  Resident,  Dr.  Colqu- 
houn,  who  has  sufficient  urbanity  to  extend 
his  protection  to  both  Jews  and  Christians, 
without  fear  or  favour ;  and  yet  sufficient 
firmness  to  resist  all  encroachments  on  his 
privileges,  and  to  enforce  the  rigid  observance 
of  all  existing  conditions  between  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  nation,  or  the  Company,  whom 
he  represents. 

-  The  situation  of  Bussorah  is  so  highly  fa- 
vourable for  trade,  that,  under  every  obstacle 
which  a  bad  government,  and  unsafe  passages 
to  and  from  it  by  sea  and  land  occasions,  it 
continues  to  enjoy  a  commerce  sufficient  to 
enrich  many  by  its  profits,  and  to  furnish  the 
means  of  subsistence  to  a  large  population. 
The  history  of  this  trade  is  not  easy  to  be  ga- 
thered from  even  the  oldest  residents  here, 
since  few  people  care  about  preserving  memo- 
rials of  'the  past ;  and  the  governors,  as  well 
as  their  dependants  in  office,  change  so  fre- 
quently, that  no  records  of  a  very  old  date 


170  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

remain  for  the  examination  of  their  succes- 
sors. A  period  is  spoken  of,  about  fifty  years 
ago,  when  the  trade  of  Bussorah  was  most 
flourishing,  and  the  amount  of  the  imports  in 
India  produce,  and  of  the  exports  in  treasure, 
is  stated  at  a  sum  so  enormous,  as  to  prove 
its  origin  to  have  been  in  the  warm  imagina- 
tion of  some  one  fresh  from  the  tales  of  Ha- 
roun  el  Raschid.  From  more  authentic  docu- 
ments it  appears,  that  in  the  year  1805,  the 
trade  of  Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  and  Surat, 
with  Bussorah,  left  a  balance  of  about  half  a 
million  sterling  in  favour  of  British  India  an- 
nually. This  trade  is  rather  increased  than 
diminished,  and  the  value  of  the  articles  en- 
tering into  it  makes  it  amount  to  more  than 
the  number  of  vessels  employed  would  seem 
to  warrant.  During  the  last  year,  there  have 
been,  altogether,  fifteen  ships  from  Bengal  and 
Bombay,  averaging  from  three  to  four  hun- 
dred tons  each.  These  brought  Bengal  mus- 
lins and  piece-goods,  pepper,  spices,  drugs, 
rice,  sugar,  indigo,  silk,  and  cotton-yarn,  Surat 
manufactures,  shawls,  china-ware,  china-pa- 
per, dyewoods,  coffee,  lac,  beads,  sugar-candy, 
and  other  articles,  as  the  produce  of  India ; 
with  lead,  iron,  cutlery,  quicksilver,  tin,  steel, 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  171 

cochineal,  and  other  articles,  as  the  European 
exports  to  that  country.  The  returns  were 
made  chiefly  in  Arabian  horses ;  treasure  in 
various  coins  from  Europe ;  pearls  from  Bah- 
rein; dates  from  Arabia;  copper  from  Tocat; 
gall-nuts  from  Koordistan ;  lametto,  or  gold- 
fringe,  and  coral  from  the  Mediterranean,  by 
the  caravans  from  Aleppo ;  gums  from  Ara- 
bia; rose-water  from  Bussorah;  assafoetida, 
almonds,  dried  fruit,  and  sometimes  horses 
from  Bushire,  as  the  port  of  Persia ;  and  occa- 
sionally, some  few  articles,  in  addition,  from 
Muscat.  Gold  and  silver  coin  forms,  however, 
by  far  the  greatest  amount  in  actual  value, 
and  pays  the  most  profitable  freight  to  ships, 
the  rate  being  four  per  cent,  ad  valorem  to 
Bengal,  three  per  cent,  to  Bombay,  two  per 
cent,  to  Muscat,  and  one  per  cent,  to  Bushire  ; 
and  instances  have  occurred  of  the  whole 
amount  of  treasure  sent  in  one  ship  yielding 
a  freight  of  5,000/.  sterling,  and,  consequently, 
amounting  to  150,000/.  in  capital. 

Horses  form  the  most  important  return 
next  to  the  precious  metals.  These  are 
brought  into  Bussorah  from  all  the  sur- 
rounding country  ;  but  those  of  Nedjed  are 
generally  preferred.     There  is  a  standing  or- 


L 


172  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

der  of  the  Porte  prohibiting  the  exportation 
of  horses  from  any  part  of  the  Turkish  do- 
minions, on  the  old  principle  of  confining 
what  a  nation  is  likely  to  want  within  itself. 
The  consequence  of  such  a  regulation,  while 
it  was  adhered  to,  was,  that  no  one  bred  horses 
but  for  his  own  use,  or  just  in  proportion  to 
the  demand  of  the  market,  if  for  the  use  of 
others.  For  this  reason,  about  twenty  years 
ago,  fifty  Arab  horses  could  not  have  been 
collected  in  a  year,  for  any  purpose,  except  a 
military  one.  The  exportation  of  them  to 
India,  offering,  however,  a  considerable  profit, 
the  Governor  of  Bussorah  was  prevailed  on 
by  bribes  to  wink  at  their  being  sent  off  in 
English  vessels.  The  precedent  being  once 
established,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing the  same  privilege  every  year ;  for  the 
Turks  have  such  a  regard  for  old  customs, 
that  they  will  do  more  in  favour  of  a  former 
precedent,  than  by  virtue  of  an  order  even 
from  the  Porte.  The  one  is  held  sacred  in 
proportion  to  its  immemorial  usage  ;  the  other 
is  frequently  evaded,  particularly  when  it  en- 
joins any  thing  in  the  light  of  a  novelty  or 
an  innovation.  From  that  time  to  the  pre- 
sent, the  exportation  of  horses  has  increased 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  173 

to  such  a  degree,  that  during  this  last  year 
about  1500  have  been  sent  to  Bombay,  Ma- 
dras, and  Calcutta.  About  one-half  of  these 
go  to  the  former  place,  one-third  to  Ben- 
gal, and  the  remainder  to  Madras. 

The  average  prime  cost  of  those  sent  to 
Bombay  is  about  three  hundred  rupees,  the 
freight  one  hundred,  and  the  expense  of 
groom  and  maintenance,  from  the  day  of 
purchase  to  that  of  sale,  one  hundred  more. 
Added  to  this,  is  a  duty  of  fifty  Ain  piastres 
per  head,  paid  to  the  Custom-house  here, 
besides  occasional  bribes  for  permission  to 
ship,  and  other  incidental  expenses ;  making 
the  average  cost  of  each  horse  landed  in 
Bombay  about  six  hundred  rupees,  inde- 
pendent of  insurance  and  risk  of  loss  by 
death,  which  that  does  not  cover.  The  ave- 
rage sale-price  of  horses  at  Bombay  is  about 
eight  hundred  rupees  each ;  from  which 
about  one  hundred  will  be  probably  de- 
ducted, for  expense  of  landing,  maintenance 
until  sold,  brokerage  on  sale,  &c.,  leaving  a 
clear  profit  of  one  hundred  rupees  only  per 
head. 

The  horses  sent  to  Bengal  are  always  of 
a   finer  kind  and  higher  price.     The  great-^ 


174  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

est  number  of  these  are  sent  from  here  by 
the  British  Resident  on  his  own  private 
account,  and  the  average  cost  of  these  is  at 
least  1000  rupees  each.  The  freight  to  Cal- 
cutta is  two  hundred  rupees  per  head,  and 
the  duty  to  the  Custom-house  from  Mo- 
hammedans fifty  roomies,  the  same  as  for 
Bombay ;  but  from  British  subjects  only 
twenty  roomies.  The  expense  of  grooms 
and  maintenance,  from  the  day  of  purchase 
to  that  of  sale,  may  be  reckoned  at  two 
hundred  rupees,  and  one  hundred  allowed 
for  insurance,  risk  of  loss  by  death,  agency, 
&c. ;  so  that  the  average  cost  of  each  horse 
landed  in  Bengal  is  at  least  1500  rupees. 
The  sales  are  effected  at  a  medium  of  2000 
rupees,  or  200/.  sterling,  which  is  more  than 
is  made  on  sending  them  to  Bombay. 

The  horses  sent  to  Madras  are  few,  and 
these  only  when  a  ship  can  conveniently 
touch  there  on  her  way  to  Calcutta.  These 
are  equally  expensive,  and  of  the  same  class 
of  fine  animals  which  are  sent  to  Bengal,  the 
freight  and  other  charges  on  them  being  ex- 
actly the  same ;  but,  from  their  arriving 
there  but  seldom,  they  produce  in  general 
a  greater  profit  on  the  sale. 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  175 

The  usual  way  of  conveying  these  horses 
from  Bussorah  to  India  is  in  stalls,  con- 
structed by  rough  stanchions  between  the 
decks  of  a  ship,  while  the  hold  is  appro- 
priated to  general  cargo.  The  stalls  run 
along  the  whole  length  of  the  deck  on  each 
side,  making  two  ranges,  and  admit  of  a 
third  between  them  going  right  fore  and  aft, 
amidships,  interrupted  only  by  the  hatch- 
ways, masts,  &c.  A  length  of  six  feet  is 
allowed  from  the  ship's  side,  towards  the 
centre  of  the  deck ;  and  along  this  the 
stanchions  are  fixed,  at  a  breadth  of  two 
feet  from  each  other,  that  being  the  greatest 
room  allotted  to  each  horse,  though  in  some 
ships  they  reduce  this  to  seventeen  inches. 
The  front  stanchions  have  then  a  cross  one 
nailed  athwart  them,  about  three  feet  six 
inches  from  the  deck,  so  as  to  form  a  breast 
stanchion  to  the  horse,  and  prevent  his  com- 
ing out.  This  is  the  way  in  which  the  side 
ranges  of  stalls  are  fitted  up.  The  central 
range  resembles  them,  except  that,  from 
being  open  before  and  behind,  there  is  a 
row  of  stanchions  in  front,  with  one  cross 
one  for  the  breast,  and  another  row  in  the 
rear  of  the  horse,  with  a  cross-piece  for  his 


176  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

hind-quarters,  to  prevent  his  moving  either 
forward  or  backward. 

When  the  horses  are  placed  in  their  stalls, 
they  have  their  heads  towards  the  centre 
of  the  deck,  for  the  sake  of  breathing  more 
freely  the  air  from  the  hatchways,  and  for 
the  convenience  of  being  fed  and  watered. 
Their  heads  are  secured  by  a  double  halter  : 
one  end  of  which  is  tightened  short,  and 
fastened  to  the  upright  stanchion  on  each 
side  of  them ;  and  the  two  hind-feet  are 
fastened  by  double  foot-ropes  to  a  strong  eye- 
cleet,  securely  fastened  to  the  deck.  When 
thus  stowed,  there  is  very  little  space  be- 
tween their  sides ;  and  they  occasion  much 
trouble  by  their  gnawing  through  the  stan- 
chions, breaking  their  ropes,  and,  when  it  is 
possible,  biting  each  other.  There  is  usually 
one  groom  sent  with  every  live  horses,  and 
he  has  often  an  inferior  assistant.  These  are 
all  maintained  at  the  ship's  expense  while 
going  to  India,  and  furnished  with  a  free 
passage  back  if  the  ship  returns.  The  pro- 
visions for  the  horses  are  put  on  board  by 
the  respective  shippers  of  them  ;  and  though 
the  barley  and  straw  necessary  for  a  ship's 
full  number  take  up  at  least  fifty  tons  of 


TRADE    OF    BUSSOKAH.  177 

room,  yet  it  goes  free,  or  is  included  in  the 
freight  paid  for  the  horses.  Each  groom, 
having  his  own  portion  of  provisions,  feeds 
his  horses  at  his  pleasure  ;  but  it  is  usual 
generally  to  give  them  chopped  straw  twice, 
and  barley  once  in  the  day,  which  is  towards 
evening. 

The  quantity  of  water  requisite  to  be  fur- 
nished by  the  ship,  is  four  gallons  per  day  for 
each  horse ;  so  that  a  large  stock  must  be 
laid  in.  During  the  long  voyages  and  hot 
summers,  in  the  Gulf  of  Persia,  many  horses 
die  from  confined  air  and  want  of  water ; 
and  on  these  no  freight  is  paid,  since  the  pay- 
ment of  freight  for  horses  is  always  made  in 
India,  and  is  then  given  only  for  the  number 
landed.  A  well-authenticated  instance  was 
related  to  me,  however,  of  some  horses  in  the 
ship  Evphimtes^  which  drank  sea-water,  sweet- 
ened with  dates,  for  three  successive  days, 
after  all  the  fresh  water  was  exhausted,  and 
it  produced  no  other  effect  on  them  than  a 
gentle  purging ;  but  it  sufficed  their  thirst 
till  they  reached  a  place  where  they  could 
renew  their  supply. 

In  blowing  weather  it  is  usual  to  place 
mats  under  the  horses'  feet,  to  prevent  their 

VOL.    II.  N 


178  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

slipping  and  falling  on  the  deck;  but  they 
are  never  slung  by  the  middle,  as  is  done  in 
English  horse  transports,  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  them  rest.  With  Arab  horses,  it  is 
so  usual  a  thing  for  them  to  sleep  standing, 
and  to  do  so  for  years  in  succession,  without 
ever  lying  down,  except  when  sick,  that  their 
standing  posture  for  a  whole  voyage  is  not 
objected  to,  as  an  inconvenience,  nor  do  they 
seem  to  suffer  from  want  of  exercise.  Ships 
intended  for  conveying  horses  should  have  a 
good  height  between  decks,  never  under  six 
feet ;  and  if  reaching  to  seven,  it  is  still 
better.  A  regular  tier  of  ports,  going  fore 
and  aft,  is  also  a  great  advantage  ;  since,  from 
the  close  stowage  and  great  confinement  of 
animal  heat,  a  free  passage  for  air  is  always 
desirable.  If  ports  are  not  in  the  ship,  large 
scuttles  should  be  cut  in  lieu  of  them,  and 
windsails  for  the  hatchways  should  be  used 
to  increase  the  circulation  of  air  below. 

Of  the  horses  exported  to  India  from  hence, 
the  general  age  is  about  four  years  ;  those 
above  seven  are  seldom  sent,  and  colts  under 
two,  rarely  or  never,  except  by  express  desire 
of  any  one  ordering  it.  Mares  are  by  no 
means  so  easy  to  be  procured  as  horses  ;  since 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  179 

the  Desert  Arabs  almost  every  where  prefer 
them  for  their  own  riding,  from  their  giving 
less  trouble  on  a  journey ;  they  keep  them 
also  for  breeding ;  but  it  is  not  true,  as  has 
been  asserted,  that  no  consideration  will  in- 
duce an  Arab  to  part  with  his  mare,  or  that 
he  would  as  soon  think  of  selling  his  wife 
and  family.    The  fact  is,  that  mares  are  more 
useful  to  them  than  horses,  and,,  being  less 
beautiful  and  less  in  fashion  to  ride  on  in 
India,  are  less  in  demand  by  the  purchasers 
at  Bussorah.     But  a  person  desirous  of  pro- 
curing a  mare  might  at  any  time  obtain  one 
for  the  payment  of  its  estimated  value   in 
the  country;  and  this  would  be  but  little 
more  than  that  of  a  horse  of  the  same  class. 
It  has  been  thought,  too,  that  there  was  a 
law  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  mares  from 
Arabia  ;  but  this,  as  has  been  already  explain- 
ed, extends  to  horses  of  every  description. 
Such  an  order  is  as  permanent  as  ever,  and 
remains  unrepealed  at  Constantinople :  but 
since  the  Pasha  of  Bagdad,  though  not  versed 
perhaps  in  the  doctrines  of  political  economy, 
perceives  that  the  supply  of  horses  actually 
keeps  pace  with  the  demand,  and  that,  though 
1500  are  exported  annually,  as  many  can  be 

N   2 


180  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

raised  for  the  service  of  the  Government  as 
could  have  been  done  when  not  one  was  al- 
lowed to  be  sent  away,  his  fears  on  that  head 
are  quieted.  A  more  powerful  motive,  how- 
ever, for  his  winking  at  the  non-observance 
of  this  decree  of  the  Sublime  Porte  is,  that 
the  exportation  is  productive  of  great  returns 
to  the  Custom-house  here,  and  increases  the 
funds  of  the  Governor  of  Bussorah,  who  holds 
his  place  under  him,  and  whose  wealth,  how- 
ever acquired,  he  one  day  hopes  to  enjoy,  as 
the  Sultan,  who  is  above  him,  does  that  of 
the  Pasha. 

A  custom  has  of  late  crept  in,  of  the  ship- 
pers of  horses  demanding  from  the  captain 
or  owners  of  the  ship,  an  advance  of  a  hun- 
dred rupees  per  head,  which  is  lent  to  them 
without  interest ;  and  neither  this  sum  nor 
the  freight  is  paid  until  arriving  at  the  des- 
tined port,  when,  if  the  horse  on  which  this 
advance  is  made,  dies  on  the  passage,  both  the 
sum  thus  lent  and  the  freight  are  lost.  In- 
jurious as  this  practice  is  to  the  shipping  in- 
terest, it  seems  to  be  fixed  beyond  alteration, 
and  has  been  owing  to  competition  among 
Arab  naquodahs  and  agents,  who,  in  endea- 
vouring to  outdo  each  other  in  the  number 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  ♦  181 

of  horses  they  could  obtain  for  their  vessels, 
have  established  a  custom  highly  prejudicial  to 
themselves.  The  average  number  conveyed 
in  each  ship  from  hence  was  formerly  about 
eighty,  but  it  is  now  a  hundred. 

The  duties  on  imports  from  India  are  re- 
gulated by  the  tariff  established  between  the 
nation  to  which  the  owner  of  the  goods  be- 
longs, and  the  Porte  ;  and  if  the  trader  claims 
no  such  privilege  of  tariff,  he  is  considered  as 
a  subject  of  the  Empire,  and  pays  accord- 
ingly. The  tariff  of  the  English  fixes  the  duty 
on  all  their  imports  from  India  at  three  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  and  this  is  regulated  by  the 
price  at  which  the  commodity  has  actually 
sold  in  Bussorah ;  so  that  the  duty  is  not 
payable  until  the  sale  has  been  really  effected. 
British  subjects  have  the  privilege  of  landing 
their  goods  either  at  the  Factory,  or  at  their 
own  dwelling,  or  warehouse,  which  they  may 
hire  at  rent  during  their  stay  here,  without 
taking  them  to  the  Custom-house,  where  the 
goods  of  all  others  are  obliged  to  go.  The 
confidence  placed  by  the  Turks  in  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  English  is  such,  that  their  own 
account  of  sales  is  taken  without  a  check  on 
them,  and  their  ships'  boats  are  allowed  to 


182  TRADE    OF    BUSSOEAH. 

pass  and  repass  from  the  city  to  the  river 
without  examination ;  though  both  of  these 
privileges  are  often  abused  by  Arab  super-car- 
goes sailing  in  vessels  under  British  colours. 

The  duty  on  imports  paid  by  all  those  who 
are  not  subjects  of  any  nation  having  a  tariff 
established  by  treaty  with  the  Porte,  is  seven 
and  a  half  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  regulated  by  the  price  at  which 
the  commodity  sells,  as  is  done  with  the  En- 
glish, but  by  an  old  standard  of  valuation 
contained  in  a  Dufter,  or  book  of  estimatesj 
made,  as  some  think,  several  centuries  ago,  but 
certainly  antecedent  to  the  earliest  period  of 
the  English  trade  here.  By  this  standard, 
the  value  of  most  Indian  articles  is  fixed  at 
less  than  half  their  present  selling  price,  some 
even  at  one-fourth,  and  all  of  them  at  least  2L 
third  below  their  real  value  at  the  present  day. 
Yet  such  is  the  veneration  of  the  Turks  for 
old  customs  of  this  kind,  that  though  their 
power  to  accommodate  this  standard  to  ex- 
isting circumstances  has  never  been  doubted? 
the  interest  both  of  the  individuals  in  office 
under  the  Government,  and  of  the  Govern- 
ment itself,  have  not  furnished  a  sufficiently 
powerful  motive  to  break  in  upon  an  estab- 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  183 

lished  usage.  By  this  means,  though  the  no- 
minal duty  of  the  English  is  less  than  that 
of  the  other  traders  here,  the  real  duty  paid 
by  them  is  often  more ;  as,  for  instance,  on  a 
chest  of  indigo,  by  the  old  valuation,  the  duty 
of  seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  makes  just  nine 
piastres  and  a  half ;  but  as  good  indigo  sells 
on  an  average  at  from  800  to  1000  piastres 
per  chest,  the  English  duty  of  three  per  cent, 
amounts  to  thirty  piastres  ! 

One  cause  of  this  extraordinary  difference 
between  the  old  estimate  and  the  present 
value,  independent  of  the  real  increase  of 
price  in  the  article  from  that  period  to  the 
present  one,  is  that  the  size  and  contents  of 
every  package  is  increased ;  and,  as  the  old 
estimates  were  neither  made  by  measure  nor 
weight,  a  chest  is  still  considered  to  be  a  chest, 
whether  large  or  small ;  and  all  other  pack- 
ages are  numbered  in  the  same  way.  Some 
of  the  native  merchants  here  tried  a  similar 
experiment  in  exporting  goods  to  Bengal,  by 
packing  up  two  bales  together,  and,  to  save 
the  duty,  calling  them,  in  their  manifests,  only 
one:  but  the  officers  of  the  Customs  at  Cal- 
cutta, not  being  such  slaves  to  old  usages  as 
the  Turks,  opened  these  double  bales,  and 


184  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

taking  the  duty  on  one  of  them,  as  before^ 
seized  the  others,  and  condemned  them  as 
smuggled  goods ;  by  which,  it  is  said,  there 
was  a  loss  of  two  lacks  of  rupees,  or  20,000/. 
sterling,  sustained  by  these  shrewd  experi- 
mentalists of  Bussorah. 

It  has  been  observed,  that  all  nations  hav- 
ing a  tariff  established  by  treaty  with  the 
Porte,  have  their  duties  regulated  by  this ; 
and  that  all  other  traders,  of  whatever  coun- 
try or  denomination,  are  included  in  the  laws 
and  regulations  applying  to  the  subjects  of 
the  Empire.  This  was  exemplified  in  a  late 
instance  of  the  arrival  of  two  American  vessels 
here,  on  a  voyage  of  speculation  and  enquiry, 
who  brought  with  them  a  variety  of  articles 
for  sale,  and  money  to  purchase  returns,  if  no 
market  could  be  found  for  their  imports.  As 
these  were  not  English,  the  Turks  were  at 
first  a  little  puzzled  to  decide  whether  they 
could  be  considered  as  Europeans,  or  as  their 
own  subjects.  Unfortunately  for  their  deli- 
berations, enquiry  proved  them  to  be  neither. 
Yet  they  were  certainly  Fringhis,  or  Franks, 
as  every  one  might  see  ;  but  they  came  from 
the  Yenghi  Doonya,  or  the  New  World, 
which,  according  to  the  opinion   of  some  of 


TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH.  185 

the  most  learned  sages  of  the  town,  was  itself 
dropped  from  the  moon  about  four  hundred 
years  ago.  The  Book  of  Estimates  at  the 
Bussorah  Custom-house  was  made,  as  they  all 
agreed,  long  before  this  New  World  had  ex- 
isted; so  that  no  provision  was  made  in  it  for 
the  subjects  of  such  a  country :  and  as  to 
their  nation,  as  Americans,  they  knew  of  nei- 
ther an  ambassador  from,  nor  a  treaty  with 
them,  existing  at  Constantinople;  so  that  they 
were,  from  all  these  considerations,  a  sort  of 
nondescript  people,  whom  they  knew  not  how 
to  class.  Fortunately,  however,  for  the  Ame- 
ricans, the  British  Resident  possessed  influ- 
ence enough  to  turn  the  scale ;  and  by  his 
suggestion  they  were  considered  as  Franks, 
and  dealt  with  accordingly,  being  subjected 
only  to  the  duties  paid  by  the  English. 

The  duties  on  exports  are  differently  re- 
gulated. On  dates  and  grain  a  small  duty  is 
paid  by  natives  to  a  Coasting  Custom-house 
near  the  entrance  of  the  creek,  which  is  farm- 
ed by  a  different  person  from  the  one  who 
holds  the  great  Custom-house  above.  This 
duty  extends,  however,  to  such  dates  and 
grain  as  are  shipped  from  the  creek,  or  im- 
mediately opposite  to  Bussorah,  as  the  same 


186  TRADE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

articles  taken  on  board  in  the  river,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  below,  or  at  Minawi,  are 
not  liable  to  it ;  and  this  exemption  continues 
throughout  all  the  river  below,  even  to  the 
bar.  The  English  pay  no  export  duty  on 
these  or  any  other  articles,  which  may  serve 
as,  or  can  be  considered  in  the  nature  of,  pro- 
visions, whether  shipped  from  Bussorah  or 
any  other  part  of  the  river.  On  the  export 
of  copper,  gall-nuts,  lametta,  and  all  goods 
brought  down  from  Bagdad,  which  is  the 
point  of  union  for  all  the  land  caravans,  there 
is  a  duty  of  five  and  a  half  per  cent,  paid 
by  the  natives,  and  three  per  cent,  by  the 
English  ;  and  as  the  valuation  in  both  cases 
is  nearly  the  same,  the  advantage  is  on  the 
side  of  the  British  trader.  Cochineal  and  co- 
ral, which  come  in  large  quantities  across  the 
Desert  from  Aleppo,  are  equally  subject  to 
this  duty  of  five  and  a  half  per  cent,  ad  va- 
lorem ;  but  though  these  are  annually  sent 
from  this  port  to  India  to  an  amount  of 
many  thousand  pounds  in  value,  they  are 
invariably  smuggled  off  to  the  ships;  and 
though  the  Government  are  aware  of  the  ex- 
tent to  which  this  is  carried,  and  are  defraud- 
ed by  it  of  a  large  sum  yearly,  yet  no  steps 


NAVAL    FORCE    OF    BUSSORAH.  187 

are  taken  to  put  a  stop  to  the  practice  ;  nor 
are  any  boats  or  persons  seized  with  it,  though 
its  conveyance  is  always  effected  openly,  and 
in  broad  day.  On  treasure,  whether  in  coin, 
bullion,  pearls,  or  precious  stones,  no  duty  is 
exacted ;  and  if  it  were,  it  would  be  still  more 
easily  evaded  than  that  on  the  two  last-men- 
tioned articles,  since  the  packages  are  always 
of  less  bulk  and  compass. 

The  naval  force  of  Bussorah  was  once  suffi- 
ciently powerful  to  command  the  whole  of  the 
Persian  Gulf ;  and  the  Turkish  fleet,  as  it  was 
called,  in  the  time  of  Suliman  Pasha  of  Bag- 
dad, consisted  of  about  twenty  well-armed 
vessels,  which  were  kept  in  actual  service  in 
that  sea.  These  have  now  dwindled  away  to 
five  or  six  old  and  unserviceable  vessels,  not 
one  of  which  could  be  considered  as  sea- 
worthy. At  present,  indeed,  no  attempt  is 
made  to  send  them  to  sea ;  but  they  are' 
moored  in  different  parts  of  the  river,  uiider 
the  pretence  of  keeping  it  clear  of  robbers, 
while  one  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
of  Bussorah,  to  act  as  a  guard-vessel  for  the 
Custom-house  ;  and  the  Captain  Pasha,  who 
is  a  person  of  very  little  consideration,  has 
his  flag-ship  abreast  of  Minawi,  to  return  the 


188  APPEARANCE    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

salute  of  vessels  passing  her,  and  to  announce, 
by  a  discharge  of  cannon,  the  visits  of  the 
Mutesellim.  It  was  about  the  time  of  Suli- 
man  Pasha,  or  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  that 
the  Gulf  was  infested  by  pirates  to  a  greater 
degree  than  even  at  present,  when  for  the 
important  services  which  the  vessels  of  the 
Imaum  of  Muscat  rendered  to  the  Pasha  of 
Bagdad,  in  assisting  to  clear  the  sea  of  these 
marauders,  and  to  give  safe  passage  to  ships 
of  trade,  the  Imaum  himself  was  permitted 
to  send  three  vessels  annually  to  Bussorah 
from  his  own  port  of  Muscat,  and  all  his 
own  goods  imported  in  them  were  suffered 
to  be  landed  free  of  duty.  This  was,  how- 
ever, too  great  a  privilege  to  last  for  ever, 
and  it  has  been  since  commuted  for  the  pay- 
ment of  an  annual  sum  of  one  thousand 
tomauns,  which,  however,  is  still  thought  to 
be  less  than  the  tenth  part  of  the  gain  ac- 
tually derived  from  this  exemption. 

The  country  around  Bussorah  has  no  beau- 
ties to  recommend  it.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates,  on  both  sides,  for  a  long  way 
above  and  below  the  town,  there  are  suffi- 
cient date-trees  and. verdure  to  relieve  the 


APPEARANCE    OF    THE    COUNTRY.  189 

eye ;  but  the  country  is  every  where  so  flat, 
and  so  few  villages  or  people  are  to  be  seen, 
that  there  is  a  tiresome,  monotonous,  and 
gloomy  silence  throughout  its  whole  extent. 
The  tract  immediately  surrounding  the  city 
towards  the  land  is  a  desert,  with  a  horizon 
as  level  as  the  sea ;  and  as  it  is  covered  with 
water  from  the  overflowings  of  the  river  on 
the  one  side,  and  of  Khore  Abdallah  on  the 
other,  for  about  six  months  in  the  year,  it 
may  be  more  frequently  taken  for  sea  than 
for  land.  This  water  is  sometimes  suffi- 
ciently deep  to  admit  of  the  passage  of  boats 
from  Bussorah  to  Zobeir,  a  town  about  ten 
or  twelve  miles  distant  in  a  south-western 
direction.  When  this  water  disappears  by 
evaporation,  and  the  remainder  is  imbibed 
by  the  earth,  the  Desert  continues  for  a 
long  time  almost  impassable,  as  the  soil  is 
here  a  clayey  earth,  altogether  free  from 
sand ;  and  when  it  becomes  entirely  dry,  a 
crust  of  salt  is  left  on  the  surface,  of  suffi- 
cient thickness  to  yield  supplies  of  this  ar- 
ticle to  the  town  and  neighbouring  villages. 
It  is  this  salt  which,  whether  it  is  inherent 
in  the  soil,  or  comes  from  the  Khore  Ab- 


190  APPEAUANCE    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

dallah  as  an  arm  of  the  sea,  renders  the 
whole  tract  of  many  miles  in  length  and 
breadth  barren  and  unproductive. 

It  is  the  practice  to  enclose  portions  of 
this  plain,  near  the  city  walls,  within  mounds 
thrown  up  for  the  purpose,  and  to  water 
them  from  the  canals  of  the  river  which  sup- 
ply the  town.  During  the  first  year  nothing 
is  produced,  but  the  soil  freshens,  and  in  the 
second  year  is  cultivated.  Its  fertility  en- 
creases  however  progressively  ;  and  after  the 
water  of  the  Desert  has  been  effectually  se- 
cluded for  a  few  years  only,  the  enclosed 
portions  become  fine  garden-plots,  capable 
of  producing  any  thing  congenial  with  the 
climate.  If  the  Government  were  a  provi- 
dent one,  and  the  character  of  the  people  so 
influenced  by  it  as  to  ensure  greater  atten- 
tion to  their  own  interests,  and  some  con- 
sideration for  their  posterity,  the  whole  of 
the  tract  which  is  now  desert,  and  extends  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  to  the  westward 
from  the  highest  towers  of  Bussorah,  might 
be  changed  to  waving  fields  of  plenty  and 
abundance,  and  teem  with  a  population  made 
happy  by  their  own  exertions.  At  present, 
however,  in  riding  round   the  walls  of  the 


CLIMATE    OF    BUSSORAH.  191 

city,  and  particularly  on  the  western  and 
southern  sides,  nothing  is  seen  but  a  dreary 
waste,  to  which  the  imagination  can  place 
no  well-defined  limits,  when  it  conceives  that 
the  Desert  reaches,  almost  without  interrup- 
tion, to  the  borders  of  Syria  ;  and  within  the 
range  of  view  from  hence  there  is  nothing  to 
break  the  sea-like  line  of  the  visible  horizon, 
excepting  only  the  tops  of  the  houses  of 
Zobeir,  just  seen  above  it,  with  a  few  modern 
watch-towers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  that 
place,  and  the  range  of  Gebel  Senam,  co- 
vered with  a  light  blue  tint,  like  a  thick  bed 
of  clouds  just  rising  in  the  west. 

The  climate  of  Bussorah  is  excessively  hot 
during  the  summer,  or  from  April  to  October  ; 
but  yet  not  so  hot  as  at  Bagdad,  where  the 
thermometer  rises  above  120%  while  here  it 
is  seldom  above  llO**.  Its  greater  nearness 
to  the  sea  may  be  perhaps  one  cause  of  this 
difference,  and  also  the  occasion  probably  of 
the  greater  moisture  of  the  air,  and  of  more 
refreshing  dews  during  the  hottest  weather. 
The  autumn  is  acknowledged  to  be  generally 
unhealthy,  and  few  people  escape  without 
fevers,  many  of  whom  are  carried  off  by 
them.    The  winters  and  the  springs  are  how^ 


192  CLIMATE    OF    BUSSORAH. 

ever  delightful ;  for  there  is  a  sufficient  de- 
gree of  cold  in  the  first,  to  render  the  use  of 
warm  clothing,  carpeted  rooms,  and  an  even- 
ing fireside  delightful ;  and  in  the  last  there 
is  but  little  rain  to  interrupt  the  enjoyments 
of  morning  rides  and  free  exercise  in  the 
open  air.  It  is  usual  for  invalids  to  come 
from  India  to  Bussorah,  for  the  restoration 
of  their  health  ;  and  if  the  seasons  were  pro- 
perly chosen  and  attended  to,  there  are  few 
constitutions  that  would  not  benefit  by  the 
change. 

The  extreme  filthiness  of  the  town,  which 
surpasses  that  of  all  other  Turkish  or  Arab 
ones  that  I  remember,  is  a  great  hindrance 
to  perambulation  through  it ;  and  in  the 
summer  it  is  insupportable,  from  the  heat  of 
the  air,  the  confined  alleys,  and  the  discharge 
of  refuse  into  the  streets  themselves,  all  which 
must,  no  doubt,  affect  the  health  as  well  as 
the  comfort  of  the  passengers ;  and  in  win- 
ter, riding  on  horseback  without  the  walls  is 
sometimes  interrupted  for  several  days  to- 
gether after  only  a  slight  fall  of  rain.  The 
worst  evil,  however,  which  would  be  likely  to 
be  felt  by  an  Indian  invalid,  who  made  this 
his  hospital,  would  be  the  total  want  of  so- 


CHABACTER    OF    THE    ATIABS.  193 

ciety,  except  the  members  of  the  factory  at 
which  he  might  be  lodged.  Independent  of 
the  present  Resident,  there  is  not  another 
individual  in  all  Bussorah,  whether  male  or 
female,  native,  or  stranger,  whose  company 
could  be  enjoyed  after  the  manner  of  Euro- 
pean society  ;  and  there  is  consequently  no 
one  whose  intercourse  amounts  to  more  than 
a  ceremonious  visit  for  half  an  hour  in  the 
morning,  and  none  of  these  understand  Eng- 
lish, or  any  other  European  language.  These 
are  evils  which  even  an  hospitable  host,  a 
good  library,  and  a  numerous  stud  of  horses, 
can  hardly  overbalance ;  and  for  want  of 
these,  no  doubt,  the  advantages  of  a  bracing 
winter  climate,  abundance  of  the  best  pro- 
visions for  the  table,  including  fine  fruits, 
variety  of  vegetables,  and  a  constant  supply 
of  the  choicest  game,  are  not  felt  to  their 
full  extent;  since  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  agreeable  occupation  for  the  mind  has 
as  powerful  an  effect  as  any  bodily  remedies 
in  restoring  the  tone  and  vigour  of  health 
to  the  constitution  of  an  Indian  invalid. 

The  character  of  the  Arabs  of  Bussorah, 
as  well  as  of  those  settled  along  the  banks  of 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  partakes  more  of 

VOL.    TI.  o 


194  CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS. 

that  of  the  Desert  Arab  than  is  elsewhere 
found  in  towns  and  cultivated  lands.  The 
citizens  are  respectful  towards  strangers  ;  and 
there  is  no  place  that  I  have  ever  yet  visited, 
where  the  English  are  held  in  such  estima- 
tion, either  by  the  Government  or  the  people. 
There  is  an  unusual  degree  of  tolerance  also 
towards  all  those  of  a  different  religion,  and, 
regarding  them  as  Mohammedans,  a  striking 
indifference  about  religious  matters  generally. 
Notwithstanding  the  unavoidable  distinctions 
of  rank  and  wealth  among  the  inhabitants  of 
so  commercial  a  city  as  this,  there  is,  never- 
theless, a  sort  of  Desert  rudeness  and  inde- 
pendence among  the  lower  order  of  its  in- 
habitants, which  is  never  found  among  a  si- 
milar class  in  Egypt  or  Syria.  Hospitality 
is  seldom  wanting,  and  protection  is  claimed 
and  given  in  cases  even  of  crime ;  while  the 
laws  of  retaliation  by  blood,  and  the  severest 
punishments  of  fornication  and  adultery,  are 
observed  here  with  nearly  the  same  rigour  as 
in-^he  heart  of  Arabia.  There  were,  during 
my  stay  in  the  house  of  the  British  Resi- 
dent, some  of  the  Mutesellim's  own  servants, 
who  had  fled  there  to  claim  dukhiel,  or  pro- 
tection ;    and   this   being   granted,  they  re- 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS.  195 

main  in  safety  till  their  crimes  are  forgotten 
or  pardoned.  Persons  offending  against  the 
Resident  have  also  flown  to  the  house  of 
the  Mutesellim  for  dukhiel^  and  have  been 
received  and  sheltered  there  ;  so  that  a  sort 
of  account-current  is  kept  between  the  par- 
ties granting  this  protection  ;  and  there  is 
either  a  release  of  individual  for  individual, 
like  an  exchange  of  prisoners  in  Europe,  or  at 
the  removal  or  change  of  the  people  in  office, 
or  the  death  of  the  private  citizens  who  may 
afford  them  such  shelter,  there  is  a  tacit  act 
of  grace,  like  a  general  jail-delivery. 

An  instance  of  Arab  hospitality  between 
avowed  enemies,  which  occurred  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Bussorah,  will  show  how  far  habit 
and  usage  can  conquer  the  feelings  which  are 
natural  to  us.  The  Montefik  Sheik  Twiney, 
who  possessed  nearly  the  whole  of  the  country 
from  Hillah  to  the  sea,  and  Sheik  Gathban, 
who  had  the  district  of  Chaub,  both  on  the 
opposite  banks  of  the  Shat-ul-Arab,  were  ene- 
mies to  such  a  degree,  and  for  so  long  a  time, 
that  it  became  a  proverb  in  Bussorah,  when 
any  one  would  express  the  violent  hatred  of 
another,  to  say,  '  It  was  like  the  hatred  of 
Twiney  to  Gathban ;'  as  if  the  feeling  was 

o  2 


196  CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS. 

thought  to  be  hereditary  and  inherent  in  the 
government  of  the  provinces  themselves.  A 
reverse  of  fortune  dispossessed  Twiney  of  his 
Sheikdom,  when  he  fled  for  refuge  to  the 
porch  of  his  oldest  enemy  in  the  Chaub  dis- 
trict. The  Sheik  Gathban,  haying  heard  of 
his  flight,  and  receiving  news  of  his  approach, 
rose  and  went  out,  attended  by  all  his  prin- 
cipal dependents,  to  meet  him.  The  inter- 
view was  as  that  of  the  oldest  and  most  sin- 
cere friends.  The  fugitive  Sheik  was  set  on 
the  horse  of  his  protector,  and,  being  con- 
ducted to  his  residence,  was  placed  there  in 
the  seat  of  honour,  when  Gathban,  taking  his 
ring  and  seal  from  off  his  finger,  placed  it  on 
that  of  Twiney,  saying,  '  As  long  as  you  re- 
main beneath  my  roof,  you  are  not  only  in 
perfect  safety,  but  I  constitute  you,  by  this 
seal,  the  Sheik  of  the  Chaub,  and  woe  be  to 
him  who  spurns  your  authority!'  This  chief 
remained  some  time  in  dukhiel  with  his  ene- 
my, who,  after  the  most  strenuous  efforts,  at 
length  effected  an  accommodation  on  his  be- 
half with  the  Pasha  of  Bagdad,  who  had  dis- 
possessed him;  and  Twiney  was  again  restored 
by  the  influence  of  Gathban  to  the  full  au- 
thority of  his  own  Sheikdom,  and,  with  it,  to 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS.  197 

the  former  enmity  between  the  Montefiks  and 
the  Chaubs,  which  continued  with  the  same 
force  as  ever ! 

Among  the  Sheiks  of  the  Desert,  many  si- 
milar instances  are  recounted,  and  of  the  fact 
of  their  happening,  there  can  be  no  doubt ; 
but  in  analysing  the  motives  and  the  feelings 
of  individuals  so  conducting  themselves  to- 
wards each  other,  there  is  considerable  diffi- 
culty in  assigning  satisfactory  explanations  to 
them.     A  striking  instance  was  also  related 
to  me  of  the  slavish  obedience  to  one  chief, 
which  marked  the  days  of  the  Sheik-el-Jebal, 
or  Old  Man  of  the  Mountains,  as  he  is  called 
in  our  histories  of  the  Crusades,  and  which 
still  continues  in  some  degree  to  be  a  feature 
of  the   Arab   character.      This   same    Sheik 
Twiney,  who  after   his   restoration  was  the 
greatest  enemy  to  the  Wahabee  cause,  was 
followed  by  his  whole  tribe  with  a  feeling  of 
attachment  and  obedience  that  united  them 
as  one  man ;  and  his  name  not  only  held  all 
his  dependents  firmly  together,  but  struck 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  his  enemies  when- 
ever it  was  mentioned.     Sheik  Abdallah  Ibn 
Saood,  who  was  then  the  Wahabee  chief,  was 
desirous  of  accomplishing  the  death  of  Twiney; 


198  CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS. 

and  called  his  slaves  around  him,  to  demand 
from  them  a  proof  of  their  fidelity  to  their 
master.  Of  these,  he  is  said  to  have  had 
about  fifty  blacks  from  Soudan,  who  were 
always  ready  for  the  most  daring  enterprises 
of  murder,  and  seemed  to  glory  in  imbruing 
their  hands  in  human  blood.  The  assassina- 
tion of  Twiney  was  proposed;  and,  though 
immediate  death  was  the  certain  consequence 
of  such  a  task,  the  execution  of  it  was  con- 
tended for  among  the  slaves,  with  all  the  ar- 
dour of  persons  seeking  the  most  honourable 
distinctions.  It  was  confided  to  the  most 
favoured  one,  and  he  accordingly  set  out  on 
his  errand.  Arriving  at  the  tent  of  the  Mon- 
tefik  Sheik,  he  was  received  with  the  hos- 
pitality invariably  shown  to  strangers ;  and, 
remaining  there  until  the  time  of  evening 
prayer,  he  stole  behind  the  Sheik  while  he  was 
prostrating  himself,  and,  on  his  rising,  thrust 
him  through  the  body  with  a  spear.  As  this 
was  done  in  the  midst  of  the  tribe,  he  was 
soon  cut  into  a  thousand  pieces,  and  his  body 
given  to  the  dogs  of  the  camp  to  devour. 
The  consequence  of  this  event  to  the  tribe 
itself,  was  their  entire  disunion  and  disper- 
sion ;  and  according  to  the  expression  of  one 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS.  199 

of  the  Arabs  belonging  to  it,  who  was  a  wit- 
ness of  the  scene,  '  the  very  hearts  who,  under 
Twiney,  were  firm  as  those  of  lions,  and 
thought  that  they  were  equal  to  the  con- 
quest of  the  world,  now  trembled  like  the 
leaves  of  autumn;  and  those  on  whom  the 
sun  rose  as  heroes,  fled  from  their  own  sha- 
dows ere  he  set.' 

The  Wahabee  chief  himself,  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  his  power,  possessed  an  influence  and 
an  authority  quite  equal  to  any  thing  known 
in  former  or  in  present  times  ;  and  a  man- 
date issued  beneath  his  seal  was  all-powerful 
from  the  Nedjed  to  the  borders  of  Yemen, 
and  from  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  to  those 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  But  now  that  he  had 
received  some  signal  defeats  from  the  Egyp- 
tian army  under  Ibrahim  Pasha,  he  had  be- 
come a  fugitive  from  castle  to  castle,  and  from 
post  to  post ;  and  those  who  in  the  day  of  his 
prosperity  were  his  most  zealous  adherents, 
had  now,  in  the  hour  of  adversity,  become  his 
most  inveterate  enemies.  Nothing  seems  to 
have  been  more  erroneous  than  the  light  in 
which  the  union  of  the  Great  Desert  tribes 
to  the  Wahabee  interest  has  been  generally 
viewed.    It  was  thought  that  the  doctrines  of 


200  CHARACTER    OF    THE    ARABS. 

Abd-ul-Wahab  had  been  the  torch  that  kin- 
dled the  flames  of  a  new  crusade,  and  that 
religious  enthusiasm  was  the  bond  by  which 
these  new  reformers  were  united.  But  there 
is  too  little  of  holy  zeal  in  the  character  of  the 
Desert  Arabs,  who  are  notoriously  indiffer- 
ent to  both  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  re- 
ligion, to  suppose  that  it  was  this  alone  which 
stirred  them  up  to  enthusiasm  in  the  cause. 
The  field  of  plunder,  always  alluring  to  them, 
from  habit  and  long-established  usage,  which 
this  new  war  opened,  was  a  more  powerful 
temptation  than  the  conversion  of  souls  ;  and 
the  pillage  of  the  shrines  and  temples  of  the 
corrupters  of  the  faith  by  land,  and  of  the 
richly  laden  vessels  of  Indian  idolaters  by  sea, 
was  of  more  weight  with  them  than  even  the 
destruction  of  unbelievers  by  the  sword.  A 
hundred  facts,  of  alliance  and  treaty,  as  well 
as  of  war  and  peace,  both  among  themselves 
and  with  strangers,  might  be  cited  to  prove 
that  their  views  and  their  motives  were 
chiefly  temporal ;  and  that,  if  spiritual  rea- 
sons were  assigned,  it  was  rather  as  a  cloak 
for  excesses,  which  nothing  but  religious  wars 
have  ever  yet  given  rise  to,  and  nothing  but 


DECLINING    STATE    OF    THE  WAHABEES.     201 

a  misguided  zeal  in  a  supposed  holy  cause 
would  ever  seek  to  justify. 

At  present  the  Wahabee  power  is  fast  de- 
clining ;  and  Abdallah  Ibn  Saood,  who,  but 
a  year  or  two  since,  ruled  nearly  the  whole 
of  Arabia  by  his  signet,  is  now  forsaken  by  his 
friends,  pursued  and  harassed  by  his  enemies, 
and  contemned  and  despised  by  both.  It  has 
been  thought  here  that  the  Pashas  of  Bagdad 
and  of  Egypt  might  at  any  time  have  put  an 
end  to  the  war,  and  crushed  the  Wahabee 
power  in  an  instant ;  and  it  is  asserted  that 
they  now  suffer  Ibn  Saood  to  exist,  as  the  pre- 
tence of  keeping  up  a  force  against  him  fur- 
nishes them  with  excuses  for  the  delay  of 
tribute,  and  for  balancing  their  accounts  with 
Constantinople,  by  a  display  of  long  arrears 
of  war  expenses,  which  never  actually  took 
place.  The  Wahabees  are  reduced  to  a  state, 
however,  in  which  they  are  incapable  of  doing 
much  injury  by  land;  and  it  wants  only  the 
extirpation  of  the  Joassamee  pirates  by  sea, 
to  complete  the  annihilation  of  their  power. 
For  the  execution  of  this  task,  all  eyes  have 
long  been  directed  to  the  English  ;  and  the 
inference  drawn  from  their  neglect  is,  either 


202  POLICE    OF    BUSHIRE. 

that  their  trading  interest  is  promoted  by  the 
hindrance  thus  offered  by  the  pirates  to  all 
native  vessels  in  the  Gulf,  or  that  they  are 
afraid  of  attacking  them  from  apprehension 
of  defeat. 

This  plundering  or  piratical  disposition  is 
so  general  among  the  Arabs  of  these  parts, 
that  during  the  recent  government  of  Bus- 
sorah  by  an  Arab  Sheik^  it  was  really  unsafe 
to  pass  from  the  city  to  the  river  by  the 
creek  after  four  o'clock,  as  boats  were  at- 
tacked and  pillaged  in  open  day,  and  after 
sun-set  no  one  stirred  from  his  own  house ; 
while,  at  any  time  during  this  government, 
no  one  ventured  beyond  the  precincts  of  the 
town,  without  an  armed  party  for  his  de- 
fence. The  police  of  the  city,  under  the 
present  Mutesellim,  is  so  well  managed,  and 
a  general  confidence  is  so  well  established, 
that  it  is  safe  to  visit  any  part  of  it  at  any 
hour  of  the  night  or  day.  This  man  him- 
self takes  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  perambu- 
lating the  streets,  and  going  along  the  creek 
in  a  canoe,  disguised  and  accompanied  only 
by  an  ugly  Abyssinian  slave.  They  often 
effect  wonders,  though  alone,  even  before 
they  are  discovered ;    and  when  it  is  once 


POLICE    OF    BUSHIRE.  203 

known  who  they  are  that  dare  to  interfere 
in  rectifying  abuses,  the  dread  that  they  in- 
spire is  sufficient  to  disperse  a  host. 

There  was  an  order  issued  but  lately  by 
the  Mutesellim,  forbidding  arms  to  be  worn 
by  Arabs  who  came  into  the  city  from  with- 
out ;  and  so  much  was  his  authority  res- 
pected, that  the  observance  of  this  prohibi- 
tion was  very  general.  Some  persons  were 
found,  however,  by  the  Governor  and  his 
slave,  during  their  evening  rambles,  who  had 
disregarded  the  mandate ;  and  the  next  day 
they  were  taken,  first  to  the  Jisser-el-Meleh, 
or  the  Bridge  of  Salt,  near  the  British  Fac- 
tory, where  they  were  exposed  to  public 
view,  by  having  their  ears  nailed  to  a  post 
for  several  hours  ;  they  were  next  taken  be- 
fore the  Palace  in  the  Corn-market,  and  re- 
ceived several  hundred  strokes  of  the  basti- 
nado on  the  soles  of  the  feet;  after  which 
they  had  their  beards  and  mustachios  shaved 
off,  and  were  ultimately  turned  out  of  the 
city,  and  forbidden  ever  to  enter  its  walls 
again. 

Though  this  severity  preserves  sufficient 
safety  in  the  town  and  its  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood, there  are,  nevertheless,  many  rob- 


204  ARAB    ROBBERS. 

bers  by  water  on  the  river,  both  between 
this  and  Kourna  above,  and  between  this 
and  Debbeh  below.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris,  the  Euphrates,  the  Hye,  and  the  Ka- 
roon,  it  is  still  worse ;  for  there  are  whole 
tribes  who  encamp  along  them,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  attacking  richly  laden  boats  pass- 
ing the  stream.  During  fine  weather,  while 
the  boats  can  keep  in  mid-channel,  they  are 
in  general  safe  ;  but  strong  southerly  winds 
oblige  them  sometimes  to  take  shelter  near 
the  land,  when  their  plunder  is  almost  ine- 
vitable. The  following  instance  of  this  oc- 
curred within  the  present  month  only. 

A  large  boat,  descending  from  Bagdad, 
with  all  the  treasure  of  the  Damascus  cara- 
van, to  the  amount  of  ten  lacs  of  rupees,  or 
upwards  of  100,000/.  sterling,  principally  in- 
tended to  be  sent  by  a  ship  to  Bengal,  was 
driven  by  a  strong  southerly  wind  into  a 
bight  of  the  river  on  the  north-eastern  side. 
After  anchoring,  the  captain  went  on  shore 
to  reconnoitre  the  ground,  and  meeting  with 
three  or  four  Arabs,  enquired  of  them  whe- 
ther a  portion  of  the  Beni  Lam,  who  are 
great  robbers,  was  not  encamped  near.  He 
was  assured  that  they  were  not,  but  that,  on 


ARAB    ROBBERS.  205 

the  contrary,  the  Sheik  of  a  tribe  whom  he 
knew  to  be  friendly,  had  pitched  his  tents 
just  behind  the  trees ;  and  was  invited  to  go 
up  and  pay  his  respects  to  him.  The  cap- 
tain consented;  but  had  no  sooner  turned 
to  go  on  his  way  with  them,  than  he  was 
seized  by  these  four  men,  and  bound  hand 
and  foot.  The  crew,  seeing  this  transaction 
from  the  boat,  and  observing  the  small  num- 
ber of  his  assailants,  jumped  on  shore,  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  to  rescue  him,  when  in- 
stantly two  or  three  hundred  men  rushed 
from  among  the  bushes,  seized  the  boat,  and 
put  all  those  who  resisted  to  death.  The 
treasure,  which  was  chiefly  in  gold  and  silver 
coin,  was  landed  in  an  hour,  and  carried  off 
into  the  Desert,  and  the  boat  scuttled  and 
destroyed.  The  captain,  whom  I  myself  saw, 
and  who  related  to  me  the  whole  affair, 
was  left  bound  on  the  earth,  and  wounded 
in  three  places  by  a  sword  and  a  spear  in 
resisting  the  first  four  traitors  who  seized 
him ;  but,  after  much  difficulty,  he  loosed 
himself  from  his  bonds,  got  to  a  neighbour- 
ing village,  and  came  by  slow  journeys  to 
Bussorah,  with  his  wounds  yet  unhealed. 
The  Mutesellim  sent  his   young   son  off 


206  INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH. 

with  a  party  to  the  spot  as  soon  as  he  heard 
of  the  affair,  but  the  robbers  were  by  that 
time  at  a  secure  distance  ;  and,  indeed,  as  the 
Desert  is  open  to  them  on  each  side  of  the 
river  for  a  retreat,  preventives  are  more  prac- 
ticable than  remedies,  and  the  sHghtest  pre- 
caution to  avoid  the  evil,  is  of  more  worth 
than  collected  hosts  to  retrieve  it,  when  once 
it  is  done. 

In  stature  and  general  appearance  the 
Arabs  of  Bussorah  and  its  neighbourhood 
are  stouter  than  those  of  Yemen,  Oman,  and 
the  Hedjaz,  but  not  so  large  as  those  of 
Egypt  and  Syria,  In  person,  both  men  and 
women  struck  me  as  uglier  than  either  ;  for, 
besides  the  pale  blue  stains,  or  tattooing  on 
the  face,  the  women  are  dark,  squalid,  blear- 
eyed,  and  haggard,  before  they  are  thirty, 
and  the  men  have  a  look  of  care  and  misery, 
which  wrinkles  their  brow  more  than  age. 
The  general  poverty  of  their  dress,  and  the 
filth  which  is  observed  through  all  classes 
and  conditions,  except  that  of  the  very  high- 
est, increases  the  effect  of  their  deformities. 

The  cutaneous  eruption  of  the  skin,  which 
commences  at  Aleppo,  and  extends  through 
Orfa,  Diarbekr,  Mardin,  and  Moosul,  to  Bag- 


INHABITANTS    OF    BUSSORAH.  207 

dad,  is  not  known  here ;  but  there  are  many 
afflicted  with  leprosy,  who  live  in  huts  apart 
from  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  on  the  banks 
of  the  creek  leading  to  the  river,  and  who 
subsist  entirely  by  casual  charity. 

Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  the  general  im- 
pression likely  to  be  made  on  the  mind  of  a 
European  visiting  Bussorah,  would  be,  that  it 
is  an  ill-built  and  half-ruined  city,  seated  in 
a  climate  which  is  for  half  the  year  intoler- 
able, defiled  by  filth  enough  to  engender  of 
itself  the  most  pestilential  diseases,  and  in- 
habited by  an  ignorant,  a  wretched,  and  an 
ugly  race  of  people, — without  any  other  ad- 
vantages to  set  against  these  evils,  than  that 
of  a  favourable  situation  for  trade,  an  agree- 
able winter,  and  an  abundance  and  variety 
of  provisions. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES,    AND 
THEIR    ATTACKS    ON    BRITISH    SHIPS. 

Nov.  18th,  1816. — The  squadron  in  Bu- 
shire  Roads,  consisting  of  his  Majesty's  ship 
Challenger,  Captain  Brydges,  and  the  East 
India  Company's  cruisers,  Mercury,  Ariel, 
and  Vestal,  were  reported  to  be  now  ready 
for  sea.  Their  departure  was  therefore  fixed 
for  to-day,  and  the  destination  of  all  was  said 
to  be  Ras-el-Khyma,  and  other  ports  of  the 
Joassamee  pirates  in  the  Persian  Gulf;  fron 
whence,  when  the  object  of  the  expedition 
was  accomplished,  one  of  the  cruisers  was  in- 
tended to  be  dispatched  to  Bombay,  and  the 
others  would  follow  their  respective  orders. 

Short  as  my  acquaintance  with  the  com- 
manders of  these  vessels  had  been,  it  was 


CHAPTER  V'l. 


.-^^^.. 


PORT  OF  BUSHIRE,  AS  APPROACHED  FROM  THE  S^. 


VOL.    11. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    209 

sufficient  to  procure  for  me  the  offer  of  a 
passage  from  each,  as  far  as  the  squadron 
might  proceed  together,  and  the  assurance  of 
a  reception  on  board  the  ship  destined  for 
Bombay,  whenever  they  might  separate.  Gap- 
tain  Blast,  of  the  Mercury,  I  had  before  met 
at  Mocha  on  my  first  voyage  to  India,  but  his 
ill  health  obliging  him  to  quit  his  ship,  and 
remain  on  shore  at  Bushire,  until  her  return 
from  the  pirate  coast,  the  command  devolved 
on  his  first  lieutenant.  Mr.  Bruce,  the  resi- 
dent of  Bushire,  and  Lieutenant  Taylor  of 
the  Bombay  army,  with  an  Arab  MoUah,  a 
Persian  Mirza,  an  Armenian  secretary,  a  pilot, 
and  a  train  of  native  servants,  were,  however, 
all  going  to  assist  in  the  negociations  with  the 
pirates  on  the  coast ;  and  as  the  Mercury  was 
the  largest  vessel,  and  the  only  one  of  the 
whole  whose  return  to  Bushire  was  certain, 
they  were  all  to  embark  in  her. 

Colonel  Corsellis  and  myself,  who  were  both 
destined  for  Bombay,  had  therefore  deter- 
*mined  on  taking  our  passage  in  one  of  the 
others ;  but  the  solicitations  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Bruce  and  Mr.  Taylor  to  be  of  their 
party,  were  so  pressingly  kind,  and  seemingly 
sincere,    that    notwithstanding    the   already 

VOL.  II.  p 


210    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

crowded  number  destined  to  join  them,  we 
yielded  to  their  persuasions. 

'the  history  of  the  rise  of  these  Joassamee 
pirates,  to  whose  ports  the  squadron  was  des- 
tined, was,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  briefly  this. 
The  line  of  coast  from  Cape  Mussenndom  to 
Bahrain  on  the  Arabian  side  of  the  Persian 
Gulf,  had  been  from  time  immemorial  occu- 
pied by  a  tribe  of  Arabs  called  Joassamees. 
These,  from  local  position,  were  all  engaged 
in  maritime  pursuits.  Some  traded  in  their 
own  small  vessels  to  Bussorah,  Bushire,  Mus- 
cat, and  even  India ;  others  annually  fished 
in  their  own  boats  on  the  pearl  banks  of  Bah- 
rain ;  and  a  still  greater  number  hired  them- 
selves out  as  sailors  to  navigate  the  coasting 
small  craft  of  the  Persian  Gulf  All,  how- 
ever, were  so  much  more  skilful,  industrious, 
and  faithful  in  their  engagements,  than  the 
other  tribes  of  the  coast,  that  they  were  always 
preferred,  and  constantly  spoken  of  as  th 
best  people  throughout  the  Gulf 

On  the  rise  of  the  reformed  religion  of 
Abd-ul-Wahab,  when  Derryheea,  the  whole 
of  Nedjed,  and  all  the  interior  of  Ammaan, 
had  submitted  to  his  doctrine,  the  sea-coast 
next  became  the  object  of  conquest  and  con- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    211 

version,  and  the  arms  of  the  Wahabees  were 
consequently  directed  against  Ras-el-Khyma 
as  the  seat  of  the  Joassamee  Arabs,  the  only 
tribe  in  this  part  of  Arabia  who  had  not  yet 
submitted  to  their  doctrines. 

During  three  whole  years,  it  is  said,  these 
irreligious  sailors  resisted  all  the  attempts 
that  were  made,  both  by  the  pen  and  sword, 
to  bring  them  over  to  the  new  doctrines  and 
precepts,  held  out  to  them  as  the  only  one 
which  their  own  original  faith  enjoined,  or 
by  the  observance  of  which  they  could  hope 
for  salvation. 

The  force  of  arms,  however,  at  length  pre- 
vailed ;  for  as  the  Wahabee  power  became 
more  extended  throughout  the  tented  deserts, 
in  which  it  found  its  first  proselytes,  the 
chiefs  and  warriors  were  able  to  direct  all 
their  strength  to  subdue  the  refractory  spirit 
of  those,  who  had  so  long  bidden  successful  de- 
fiance to  their  exhortations  and  their  threats. 

The  town  of  Ras-el-Khyma,  with  all  its 
dependencies  along  the  coast,  therefore,  sub- 
mitted, and  at  the  same  moment  that  they 
received  the  conquerors  within  their  gates, 
they  bowed  submission  to  the  new  doctrines 
which  they  taught,  and  swore  fidelity  to  such 

p  2 


212    HISTOllY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

laws  and  injunctions  as  the  most  learned  and 
holy  of  the  leaders  might  pronounce  these 
doctrines  to  impose. 

The  tenets  of  Abd-ul-Wahab  have  been  too 
often  explained  to  need  a  repetition  in  detail : 
they  enjoin  th^  worship  of  one  God,  a  belief 
in  his  prophets,  among  whom  they  admit  of 
Abraham,  Moses,  and  Christ,  as  distinguished 
leaders,  and  hold  Mohammed  to  be  the  seal 
of  them  all :  they  consider  the  Koran  to  be 
a  sufficient  guide  for  all  the  purposes  of  policy 
and  morals,  and  insist  on  the  strictest  ob- 
servance of  its  maxims.  It  is  thus  that  the 
right  of  conquest  over  infidels,  the  promul- 
gation of  their  faith  by  fire  and  sword,  and 
the  perfect  disposal  of  the  lives  and  properties 
of  their  prisoners,  are  preached,  not  merely 
as  admissible,  but  indispensable  duties,  bind- 
ing on  all  adherents  of  the  true  faith,  and 
both  cowardly  and  criminal  not  to  carry  into 
execution. 

The  conquered  Joassamees  were  called  up- 
on to  abandon  not  only  their  former  corrupt- 
ed faith,  but  also  their  former  mode  of  living ; 
the  merit  of  which  in  industry,  sobriety,  and 
fidelity,  was  far  outbalanced  by  the  defiling 
state  of  communication  in  which  they  lived 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.  213 

with  unbelievers  and  strangers  to  the  true 
God.  They  obeyed  the  call  with  all  the  en- 
thusiasm which  new  religions  are  so  fre- 
quently found  to  inspire,  and  lived  for  a  short 
time  on  the  scanty  productions  of  their  own 
soil,  and  the  fish  of  their  own  waters.  This, 
however,  could  not  last  long  ;  the  spark  of  re- 
ligious zeal  once  kindled,  either  bursts  into  a 
blaze,  or  becomes  again  extinguished ;  for  if 
in  any  one  state  of  feeling  more  than  another 
a  stationary  medium  cannot  be  admitted,  it 
is  certainly  in  the  fanaticism  of  new  converts 
to  a  proselytizing  faith.  The  Joassamees 
therefore,  directed  their  views  to  war  and 
conquest ;  their  leaders  easily  persuaded  them 
that  God  was  on  their  side,  and  that  there- 
fore the  legions  of  hell  itself  could  not  pre- 
vail against  them ;  and  as  their  own  feelings 
accorded  with  the  admonitions  of  their  teach- 
ers, war  and  plunder  was  the  universal  cry, 
and  destruction  to  infidels  was  vowed  in  the 
same  breath  that  uttered  the  name  of  their 
merciful  Creator,  and  implored  his  aid  to  the 
accomplishment  of  their  holy  labours.  The 
local  position  of  the  Joassamees  offered  them 
no  wide  field  of  conquest  by  land  ;  but  as 
the  sea  was  still  before  them,  like  the  great 


214    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

high- way  of  nations  on  which  men  of  every 
faith  and  denomination  had  hitherto  passed 
unmolested,  they  determined  to  reap  the  har- 
vest of  their  toils  on  what  might  be  termed 
in  every  sense  their  own  element. 

The  small  coasting-vessels  of  the  Gulf,  from 
their  defenceless  state,  were  the  first  object 
of  their  pursuit,  and  these  soon  fell  an  easy 
prey  ;  until,  emboldened  by  success,  they  di- 
rected their  views  to  more  arduous  enter- 
prizes,  and  having  once  tasted  the  sweets  of 
plunder  in  the  increase  of  their  wealth,  had 
determined  to  attempt  more  promising  vic- 
tories. 

About  the  year  1797,  one  of  the  East  India 
Company's  vessels  of  war,  the  Viper,  of  ten 
guns,  was  lying  at  anchor  in  the  inner  roads 
of  Bushire.  Some  dows  of  the  Joassamees 
were  at  the  same  moment  anchored  in  the 
harbour  ;  but  as  their  warfare  had  hitherto 
been  waged  only  against  what  are  called  na- 
tive vessels,  and  they  had  either  feared  or  re- 
spected the  British  flag,  no  hostile  measures 
were  ever  pursued  against  them  by  the  Eng- 
lish ships.  The  commanders  of  these  dows 
had  applied  to  the  Persian  agent  of  the  Bri- 
tish East  India  Company  there,  for  a  supply 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    215 

of  English  gunpowder  and  cannon-shot  for 
their  cruize  ;  and,  as  this  man  had  no  suspi- 
cions of  their  intentions,  he  furnished  them 
with  an  order  to  the  commanding  officer  on 
board  for  the  quantity  required.  The  Cap- 
tain of  the  Viper  was  on  shore  at  the  time 
in  the  Agent's  house,  but  the  order  being 
produced  to  the  officer  on  board,  the  powder 
and  shot  were  delivered,  and  the  dows  weigh- 
ed and  made  sail.  The  crew  of  the  Viper 
were  at  this  moment  taking  their  breakfast 
on  deck,  and  the  officers  were  below ;  when, 
on  a  sudden^  a  cannonading  was  opened  on 
them  by  two  of  the  dows,  who  attempted  also 
to  board.  The  officers,  leaping  on  deck,  call- 
ed the  crew  to  quarters,  and  cutting  their 
cable,  got  sail  upon  the  ship,  so  as  to  have 
the  advantage  of  manoeuvring.  A  regular 
engagement  now  took  place  between  this 
small  cruizer  and  four  dows,  all  armed  with 
great  guns,  and  full  of  men.  In  the  contest, 
Lieut.  Carruthers,  the  commanding  officer, 
was  once  wounded  by  a  ball  through  the 
loins  ;  but,  after  girding  a  handkerchief  round 
his  waist,  he  still  kept  the  deck,  till  a  ball 
entering  his  forehead,  he  fell.  Mr.  Salter, 
the  midshipman  on  whom  the  command  de- 


216     HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIllATES. 

yolved,  continued  to  fight  the  ship  with  de- 
termined bravery,  and,  after  a  stout  resist- 
ance, beat  them  off,  chased  them  some  dis- 
tance out  to  sea,  and  subsequently  regained 
the  anchorage  with  safety. 

The  lives  lost  on  board  the  Company's 
cruiser  on  this  occasion  were  considerable, 
and  there  was  something  so  glaringly  treache- 
rous on  the  part  of  the  pirates  in  the  affair, 
that  it  was  believed  it  would  call  forth  the 
immediate  vengeance  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  India.  No  hostilities  were,  how- 
ever, commenced  against  the  perpetrators  of 
this  piratical  attempt;  nor,  as  far  as  is 
known,  was  any  remonstrance,  or  even  en- 
quiry, made  on  the  occasion. 

Several  years  elapsed  before  the  wounfls 
of  the  first  defeat  were  sufficiently  healed 
to  induce  a  second  attempt  on  vessels  un- 
der the  British  flag,  though  a  constant  state 
of  warfare  was  still  kept  up  against  the  small 
craft  of  the  Gulf.  This,  however,  at  length 
occurred  about  the  year  1804,  when  a  new 
race  of  young  warriors  might  be  supposed 
to  have  replaced  the  slain  and  wounded,  that 
in  this  period  had  been  disabled,  or  fallen  in 
battle. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.       217 

About  the  year  1804,  the  East  India  Com- 
pany's cruiser,  Fly,  was  taken  by  a  French 
privateer,  off  the  island  of  Kenn,  in  the  Per- 
sian Gulf;  but  before  the  enemy  boarded 
her,  she  ran  into  shoal  water,  near  that 
island,  and  sunk  the  Government  dispatches, 
and  some  treasure  with  which  they  were 
charged,  in  about  two  and  a  half  fathoms  of 
water,  taking  marks  for  the  recovery  of  them, 
if  possible,  at  some  future  period.  The  pas- 
sengers and  crew  were  taken  to  Bushire, 
where  several  other  vessels  were  captured 
by  the  French  ship,  and  consequently  a 
number  of  prisoners  were  collected  there,  as 
all  were  set  at  liberty,  except  the  comman- 
der, Lieut.  Mainwaring,  and  his  officers,  Mr. 
Arthur  and  Mr.  Maillard,  who  were  taken 
to  the  Isle  of  France,  probably  with  a  view 
to  exchange.  A  number  of  those  who  were 
left  behind,  including  a  Mr.  Yowl  and  Mr. 
Flowers,  ge^ntlemen,  and  one  Pennel,  a  sea- 
man, purchased  by  subscription  a  country 
dow  at  Bushire,  and  fitted  her  out  with  ne- 
cessaries for  her  voyage  to  Bombay.  On 
their  passage  down  the  Gulf,  as  they  thought 
it  would  be  practicable  to  recover  the  Go- 
vernment packet  and  treasure  sunk  off  Kenn, 


218      HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

they  repaired  to  that  island,  and  were  suc- 
cessful, after  much  exertion,  in  recovering 
the  former,  which  being  in  their  estimation 
of  the  first  importance,  as  the  dispatches 
were  from  England  to  Bombay,  they  sailed 
with  them  on  their  way  thither,  without  loss 
of  time. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf,  between  Cape 
Mussunndom  and  the  island  called  the  Great 
Tomb,  they  were  captured  by  a  fleet  of  Joas- 
samee  boats,  after  some  resistance,  in  which 
several  were  wounded,  and  taken  into  their 
chief  port  at  Ras-el-Khyma.  Here  they  were 
detained  in  hope  of  ransom,  and  during  their 
stay  were  shown  to  the  people  of  the  town 
as  curiosities,  no  similar  beings  having  been 
before  seen  there  within  the  memory  of  man. 
The  Joassamee  ladies  were  so  minute  in 
their  enquiries,  indeed,  that  they  were  not 
satisfied  without  determining  in  what  res- 
pect an  uncircumcised  infidel  differed  from  a 
true  believer. 

When  these  unfortunate  Englishmen  had 
remained  for  several  months  in  the  possession 
of  the  Arabs,  and  no  hope  of  their  ransom 
appeared,  it  was  determined  to  put  them  to 
death,  and  thus  rid  themselves  of  unprofit- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.      219 

able  enemies.  An  anxiety  to  preserve  life, 
however,  induced  the  suggestion,  on  their 
parts,  of  a  plan  for  the  temporary  prolonga- 
tion of  it,  at  least.  With  this  view,  they 
communicated  to  the  chief  of  the  pirates  the 
fact  of  their  having  sunk  a  quantity  of  trea- 
sure near  the  island  of  Kenn,  and  of  their 
knowing  the  marks  of  the  spot,  by  bearings 
of  objects  on  shore,  with  sufficient  accuracy 
to  recover  it,  if  furnished  with  good  divers. 
They  offered,  therefore,  to  purchase  their 
own  liberty  by  a  recovery  of  this  money  for 
their  captors  ;  and  on  the  fulfilment  of  their 
engagement  it  was  solemnly  promised  to  be 
granted  to  them. 

They  soon  sailed  for  the  spot,  accompa- 
nied by  divers  accustomed  to  that  occupa- 
tion on  the  pearl  banks  of  Bahrain  ;  and,  on 
their  anchoring  at  the  precise  points  of  bear- 
ing taken,  they  commenced  their  labours. 
The  first  divers  who  went  down  were  so 
successful,  that  all  the  crew  followed  in  their 
turns,  so  that  the  vessel  was  at  one  time 
almost  entirely  abandoned  at  anchor.  As 
the  men,  too,  were  all  so  busily  occupied  in 
their  golden  harvest,  the  moment  appeared 
favourable  for  escape ;  and  the  still  captive 


220    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

Englishmen  were  already' at  their  stations  to 
overpower  the  few  on  board,  cut  the  cable, 
and  make  sail.  Their  motions  were  either 
seen  or  suspected,  as  the  divers  repaired  on 
board  in  haste,  and  the  scheme  was  thus 
frustrated. 

They  were  now  given  their  liberty,  as  pro- 
mised, by  being  landed  on  the  island  of 
Kenn,  where,  however,  no  means  offered  for 
their  immediate  escape.  The  pirates,  having 
at  the  same  time  landed  themselves  on  the 
island,  commenced  a  general  niassacre  of  the 
inhabitants,  in  which  their  released  prison- 
ers, fearing  they  might  be  included,  fled  for 
shelter  to  clefts  and  hiding-places  in  the 
rocks.  During  their  refuge  here,  they  lived 
on  such  food  as  chance  threw  in  their  way, 
going  out  under  cover  of  the  night  to  steal  a 
goat  and  drag  it  to  their  haunts. 

When  the  pirates  had  at  length  com- 
pleted their  work  of  blood,  and  either  mur- 
dered or  driven  off  every  former  inhabitant 
of  the  island,  they  quitted  it  themselves,  with 
the  treasure  which  they  had  thus  collected 
from  the  sea  and  the  shore.  The  English- 
men now  ventured  to  come  out  from  their 
hiding-places,  and  to  think  of  devising  some 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    221 

means  for  their  escape.  Their  good  fortune, 
in  a  moment  of  despair,  threw  them  on  the 
wreck  of  a  boat,  near  the  beach,  which  was 
still  capable  of  repair.  In  searching  about 
the  now  deserted  town,  other  materials  were 
found,  which  were  of  use  to  them,  and  suf- 
ficient plank  and  logs  of  wood  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  raft.  These  were  both  com- 
pleted in  a  few  days,  and  the  party  embarked 
on  them  in  two  divisions,  to  effect  a  passage 
to  the  Persian  shore.  One  of  these,  the  boat, 
was  lost  in  the  attempt,  and  all  on  board 
her  perished ;  while  the  raft,  with  the  re- 
mainder of  the  party,  reached  safe. 

As  the  packet  of  Government  dispatches 
had  been  found  only  to  contain  papers,  which 
the  Arabs  neither  understood  nor  valued,  it 
had  constantly  remained  in  the  possession  of 
these  unfortunate  sufferers,  who  had  guard- 
ed it  with  an  almost  religious  zeal,  and  it 
still  was  preserved  to  them  by  being  with  the 
remnant  of  the  party  thus  remaining. 

Having  gained  the  main-land,  they  now 
set  out  on  foot  towards  Bushire,  following 
the  line  of  the  coast  for  the  sake  of  the  vil- 
lages and  water.  In  this  they  are  said  to 
have  suffered  incredible  hardships  and  priva- 


222    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

tions  of  every  kind.  No  one  knew  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country  perfectly,  and  the  roads 
and  places  of  refreshment  still  less  ;  they 
were  in  general  destitute  of  clothes  and 
money,  and  constantly  subject  to  plunder 
and  imposition,  poor  as  they  were.  Their 
food  was  therefore  often  scanty,  and  always 
of  the  worst  kind ;  and  they  had  neither 
shelter  from  the  burning  sun  of  the  day,  nor 
from  the  chilling  dews  of  night. 

The  Indian  sailors,  sipahees,  and  servants, 
of  whom  a  few  were  still  remaining  when 
they  set  out,  had  all  dropped  off  by  turns; 
and  even  Europeans  had  been  abandoned  on 
the  road,  in  the  most  affecting  way,  taking  a 
last  adieu  of  their  comrades,  who  had  little 
else  to  expect  but  soon  to  follow  their  fate. 
One  instance  is  mentioned  of  their  having 
left  one  who  could  march  no  further,  at  the 
distance  of  only  a  mile  from  a  village  ;  and 
on  returning  to  the  spot  on  the  morrow, 
under  the  hope  of  restoring  him  to  their 
party,  his  mangled  bones  only  were  found, 
as  he  had  been  devoured  during  the  night 
by  jackals.  The  packet  being  light,  was  still, 
however,  carried  by  turns,  and  preserved 
through  all  obstacles  and  difficulties ;    and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    223 

with  it  they  reached  at  length  the  island  of 
Busheab,  to  which  they  crossed  over  in  a 
boat  from  the  main. 

Here  they  were  detained,  and  money  was 
even  demanded  of  them  by  the  Sheik,  for 
his  protection,  or  permission  to  land  on  his 
island.  Finding  entreaty  would  not  prevail 
on  this  inhospitable  chief  to  forward  their 
views,  they  held  a  higher  tone ;  and,  defence- 
less as  they  were,  a  succession  of  miseries  had 
given  them  fortitude  enough  to  brave  inso- 
lence with  firmness,  and  to  threaten  the  future 
vengeance  of  the  British  Government,  if  they 
were  not  instantly  furnished  by  him  with  a 
boat  for  the  conveyance  of  themselves  and  the 
dispatches  in  their  charge  to  Bushire.  This 
had  the  desired  effect :  the  boat  was  provided, 
and  the  party  embarked.  One  of  the  gentle- 
men expired  in  the  act  of  being  conveyed 
from  the  shore,  several  others  died  on  the 
voyage  itself,  and  one  after  their  arrival  at 
Bushire;  leaving,  out  of  all  their  numerous 
party,  two  survivors, — Mr.  Jowl,  an  officer  of 
a  merchant  ship,  and  Pennel,  an  English 
seaman. 

These  ultimately  reached  Bombay  with  the 
packet,  for  the  preservation  of  which  they 


224    HISTORY    OB^    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

were  thought  to  be  adequately  rewarded  by 
a  mere  letter  of  thanks  from  the  Govern- 
ment there,  after  these  almost  unexampled 
sufferings. 

In  the  following  year,  two  English  brigs? 
the  Shannon,  Captain  Babcock,  and  the  Trim- 
mer, Captain  Cummings,  were  on  their  voyage 
from  Bombay  to  Bussorah,  both  of  them  be- 
longing to  Mr.  Manesty,  the  Company's  Resi- 
dent at  that  place.  These  were  both  attacked, 
near  the  islands  of  Polior  and  Kenn,  by  seve- 
ral boats,  and,  after  a  very  slight  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  Shannon  only,  were  taken 
possession  of,  and  a  part  of  the  crew  of  each, 
and  these  Indians,  put  to  the  sword.  Cap- 
tain Babcock,  having  been  seen  by  one  of  the 
Arabs  to  discharge  a  musket  during  the  con- 
test, was  taken  by  them  on  shore ;  and  after 
a  consultation  on  his  fate,  it  was  determined 
that  he  should  forfeit  the  arm  by  which  this 
act  of  resistance  was  committed.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly severed  from  his  body  by  one  stroke 
of  a  sabre,  and  no  steps  were  taken  either  to 
bind  up  the  wound,  or  to  prevent  his  bleed- 
ing to  death.  The  captain  himself  had  yet 
sufficient  presence  of  mind  left,  however,  to 
think  of  means  for  his  own  safety,  and  there 


HISTOKY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.  225 

being  near  him  some  ghee,  or  clarified  butter, 
he  procured  this  to  be  heated,  and,  while  yet 
warm,  thrust  the  bleeding  stump  of  his  arm 
into  it.  It  had  the  effect  of  lessening  the 
effusion  of  blood,  and  ultimately  of  saving  a 
life  that  would  otherwise  most  probably  have 
been  lost. 

The  crew  were  then  all  made  prisoners, 
and  taken  to  a  port  of  Arabia,  from  whence 
they  gradually  dispersed  and  escaped.  The 
vessels  themselves  were  additionally  armed, 
one  of  them  mounting  twenty  guns,  manned 
with  Arab  crews,  and  sent  from  Ras-el-Khy- 
ma  to  cruise  in  the  Gulf,  where  they  com- 
mitted many  successful  piracies  on  maritime 
trade. 

Had  these  been  some  of  the  East  India 
Company's  ships  of  war,  it  is  not  improbable 
but  that  the  affair  would  have  been  passed 
over  unnoticed,  as  was  done  in  the  case  of  the 
Viper ;  but  belonging  to  Mr.  Manesty,  pecu- 
niary interest  urged  what  a  regard  to  the 
honour  of  the  flag  had  not  yet  been  suffi- 
ciently powerful  even  to  suggest.  A  strong 
remonstrance  was  made  by  Mr.  Manesty  to 
the  chief  of  the  pirates  in  their  own  port,  and 
threats  held  out  of  retaliation,  which,  as  they 

VOL.    II.  Q 


22S6    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

came  from  one  clothed  with  official  power, 
were  probably  regarded  as  the  sentiments  of 
the  Government  itself,  though  they  are  now 
believed  to  have  been  those  of  the  ship's 
owner  alone,  exerting  himself  to  recover  his 
lost  property. 

The  Government,  indeed,  were  not  only  in- 
different to  the  insult  shown  their  flag,  and 
the  injury  done  to  commerce  generally  by  the 
triumphs  of  these  lawless  plunderers,  but  an 
order  was  issued  by  the  President  in  Council, 
directing  all  the  commanders  of  the  Bombay 
Marine,  not  on  any  consideration  to  attack  or 
molest  these  innocent  natives  of  the  Gulf,  and 
threatening  to  visit  with  the  displeasure  of 
the  Government  any  among  them  who  might 
be  found  in  any  way  to  interrupt  them  or  to 
provoke  their  anger. 

Within  a  year  or  two  after  this,  an  attack 
was  made  upon  the  East  India  Company's 
cruiser.  Fury,  of  six  guns,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Gowan,  when  carrying  dispatches 
from  Bussorah  to  Bombay.  The  attack  was 
made  by  several  boats  in  company,  and  during 
a  short  calm ;  but  the  resistance  made  was 
determined  and  effectual,  and  the  boats  were 
made  to  sheer  off,  with  the  loss  of  a  great 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    22? 

number  of  men.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Fury 
at  Bombay,  the  commander  waited  on  the 
governor  in  the  usual  way ;  but  on  report- 
ing the  affair  of  the  battle,  instead  of  being 
applauded  for  his  spirited  resistance,  and 
his  preservation  of  the  dispatches  under  his 
charge,  he  received  a  severe  reprimand  from 
the  Governor  himself  in  person,  for  disobeying 
the  orders  given,  and  daring  to  molest  the 
innocent  and  unoffending  Arabs  of  these  seas. 

The  Governor  of  that  period,  from  igno- 
rance of  the  character  of  this  people,  could 
never  be  persuaded  that  they  were  the  ag- 
gressors, and  constantly  upbraided  the  offi- 
cers of  the  English  vessels  with  having  in 
some  way  provoked  the  attacks  of  which  they 
complained,  —  continuing  still  to  insist  on 
the  observance  of  the  orders,  in  not  firing  on 
these  vessels  until  they  had  first  been  fired 
at  by  them. 

The  Mornington,  of  twenty-four  guns,  and 
the  Teignmouth,  of  eighteen,  both  ships  of 
war  in  the  Bombay  Marine,  were  successively 
attacked  by  these  daring  marauders,  who  were 
now  emboldened,  by  the  forbearance  of  the 
British  Government,  to  attempt  the  stoutest 
of  their  vessels,  since  they  very  naturally  im- 

Q  2 


^ 


228     HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIUATES. 


puted  to  cowardice  a  conduct  which  scarcely 
any  but  the  members  of  the  Government  it- 
self could  at  all  understand  or  explain. 

In  the  year  1808,  the  force  of  the  Joassa- 
mees  having  gradually  increased,  and  be- 
coming flushed  with  the  pride  of  victory, 
their  insulting  attacks  on  the  British  flag 
were  more  numerous  and  more  desperate 
than  ever.  The  first  of  these  was  on  the 
ship  Minerva,  of  Bombay,  on  her  voyage  to 
Bussorah,  belonging  also  to  Mr.  Manesty. 
The  attack  was  commenced  by  several  boats, 
for  they  never  cruize  singly, — and  a  spirited 
resistance  in  a  running  fight  was  kept  up,  at 
intervals,  for  several  days  in  succession.  A 
favourable  moment  offered,  however,  for 
boarding ;  the  ship  was  overpowered  by 
numbers,  and  carried  amidst  a  general  mas- 
sacre.— The  captain  was  said  to  have  been 
cut  up  into  separate  pieces,  and  thrown  over- 
board by  fragments  ;  the  second  mate  and 
carpenter  were  alone  spared,  probably  to  make 
use  of  their  services  ;  and  an  Armenian  lady, 
the  wife  of  Lieut.  Taylor,  then  at  Bushire, 
was  reserved  perhaps  for  still  greater  suffer- 
ings. 

The  ship  was   taken   safely  into  Ras-el- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.     229 

Khyma,  twenty  guns  of  different  calibre  were 
mounted  on  her,  and  she  was  sent  to  cruise 
in  the  Gulf  The  second  mate  was  still  kept 
on  shore,  at  the  town  ;  the  carpenter  was  sent 
into  the  country,  to  procure  materials  and 
•construct  gun-carriages,  &c. ;  and  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor was  still  held  in  the  most  afflicting  bond- 
age for  several  months,  and  was  at  length 
ransomed  by  Mr.  Bruce,  of  Bushire,  for  a 
large  sum. 

A  few  weeks  after  this,  the  Sylph,  one  of 
the  East  India  Company's  cruisers,  of  sixty 
tons,  and  mounting  eight  guns,  was  accom- 
panying the  Mission  under  Sir  Harford  Jones, 
from  Bombay  to  Persia,  when,  being  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  squadron,  she  was  at- 
tacked in  the  Gulf  by  a  fleet  of  dows.  These 
bore  down  with  all  the  menacing  attitude  of 
hostility ;  but  as  the  commander,  Lieut.  Gra- 
ham, had  received  from  the  Bombay  Govern- 
ment the  same  orders  as  all  the  rest  of  his 
brother  officers  in  the  Marine,  not  to  open 
his  fire  on  any  of  these  vessels  until  he  had 
been  first  fired  on  himself,  the  ship  was  hard- 
ly prepared  for  battle,  and  the  colours  were 
not  even  hoisted  to  apprise  them  to  what 
nation  she  belonged.    The  dows  approached, 


230    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

threw  their  long  overhanging  prows  across 
the  Sylph's  beam,  and,  pouring  in  a  shower  of 
stones  on  her  deck,  beat  down  and  wounded 
almost  every  one  who  stood  on  it.  They  then 
boarded,  and  made  the  ship  an  easy  prize,  be- 
fore more  than  a  single  shot  had  been  fired^ 
and,  in  their  usual  way,  put  every  one  whom 
they  found  alive  to  the  sword.  Lieut.  Gra- 
ham fell,  covered  with  wounds,  down  the 
fore  hatchway  of  his  own  vessel,  where  he 
was  dragged  by  some  of  the  crew  into  a 
store-room,  in  which  they  had  secreted  them- 
selves, and  barricadoed  the  door  with  a  crow- 
bar from  within ;  while  a  Persian  passenger, 
Mahomed  Hussein  Khan,  who  was  attached 
to  the  Mission  as  a  secretary,  had  crawled 
into  one  of  the  cabin  lockers  abaft,  with  the 
same  view. 

The  cruiser  was  thus  completely  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  enemy,  who  made  sail  on  her, 
and  were  bearing  her  off  in  triumph  to  their 
own  port,  in  company  with  their  boats.  Not 
many  hours  had  elapsed,  however,  before  the 
Nereid  frigate.  Captain  Corbett,  the  Com- 
modore of  the  squadron  from  which  the 
Sylph  had  separated,  hove  in  sight,  and  per- 
ceiving   this  vessel    in    company   with    the 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.      231 

dows,  without  any  apparent  resistance,  judg- 
ed her  to  be  a  prize  in  possession  of  the  pi- 
rates. She  accordingly  gave  them  all  chase, 
and  coming  up  with  the  brig,  the  Arabs  took 
to  their  boats  and  abandoned  her,  when  she 
was  taken  possession  of  by  the  frigate,  and 
secured.  The  chase  was  continued  after  the 
dows  themselves,  but  without  success,  owing 
to  the  detention  here  occasioned,  and  their 
own  superior  sailing ;  though  it  is  said  that 
the  Nereid  sunk  one  of  them  by  a  broadside. 
Only  three  days  after  this,  the  East  India 
Company's  cruiser  Nautilus,  of  fourteen  guns, 
commanded  by  Lieut.  Bennet,  was  proceed- 
ing up  the  Gulf  with  dispatches,  and  on 
passing  the  island  of  Anjar,  on  the  south 
side  of  Kishma,  near  the  Persian  shore,  was 
attacked  by  a  squadron  of  these  pirates,  con- 
sisting of  a  bughala,  a  dow,  and  two  tran- 
kies ;  the  two  former  mounting  great  guns, 
the  others  having  oars  as  well  as  sails,  but 
being  all  full  of  armed  men.  The  attack 
was  made  in  the  most  skilful  and  regular 
manner,  the  two  larger  vessels  bearing  down 
on  the  starboard-bow,  and  the  smaller  ones 
on  the  quarter.  As  Lieut.  Bennet  had  re- 
ceived the  same  positive  orders  as  his  bro- 


2ii2     HISTORY    OP    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

ther  officers,  not  to  commence  an  attack  until 
fired  on,  he  reserved  his  guns  until  they 
were  so  close  to  him  that  their  dancing 
and  brandishing  of  spears,  the  attitudes  with 
which  they  menace  death,  could  be  distinctly 
seen,  and  their  songs  and  war-shouts  heard. 
The  bow-gun  was  then  fired  across  their 
hawse,  as  a  signal  for  them  to  desist,  and  the 
British  colours  were  displayed.  This  being 
disregarded,  it  was  followed  by  a  second  shot, 
which  had  no  more  effect.  A  moment's  con- 
sultation was  then  held  by  the  officers,  when 
it  was  thought  a  want  of  regard  to  their  own 
safety  to  use  further  forbearance,  and  a  broad- 
side was  instantly  discharged  among  them  all. 
An  action  now  commenced  between  the 
Nautilus  and  the  two  largest  of  the  boats, 
mounting  cannon,  and  continued  for  nearly 
an  hour ;  the  trankies  lying  on  their  oars 
during  the  contest  to  await  its  result,  and 
seize  the  first  favourable  moment  to  board. 
As  the  superiority  on  the  part  of  the  cruiser 
became  more  decidedly  apparent,  these,  how- 
ever, fled,  and  were  soon  followed  by  the 
others,  the  whole  of  whom  the  Nautilus 
pursued,  and  fired  on  during  the  chase  as 
long  as  her  shot  would  tell.     In  this  action, 


n 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.      233 

the  English  boatswain  was  killed,  and  Lieute- 
nant Tanner  slightly  wounded ;  but  the  de- 
struction in  the  boats  was  thought  to  have 
been  considerable. 

These  repeated  aggressions  at  length  open- 
ed the  eyes  of  the  Bombay  Government  to 
the  weakness  of  their  own  forbearance,  and 
the  public  voice  seemed    to  call    for   some 
stroke  of  revenge  on  the  injuries  and  insults 
that  had  for  so  many  years  been  offered  to 
the  British  flag,  and  to  those  who  sailed  un- 
der its  protection.      An  expedition   was  ac- 
cordingly assembled   at  Bombay,  consisting 
of  European  and  Indian  troops,  and  ships  of 
war,  both  from  the  Navy  and  the  East  India 
Company's  Marine,  as  well  as  transports  for 
the  service  of  the  whole.     The  naval  force 
consisted    of  La    Chiffone    frigate.    Captain 
Wainwright,  as  Commodore  of  the  squadron  ; 
his  Majesty's  ship  Caroline,  of  thirty-eight 
guns.  Captain  Gordon  ;  and  eight  of  the  East 
India  Company's  cruisers,  namely,  the  Mor- 
nington,  Ternate,  Aurora,  Prince  of  Wales, 
Ariel,  Nautilus,  Vestal,  and  Fury,  with  four 
large  transports,   and    the    Stromboli   bomb- 
ketch.     The  military  force  was  composed  of 
the  65th  regiment  of  foot,  a  detachment  of 


^ 


234      HISTOIIY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

the  47th,  a  detachment  of  the  Bombay  artil- 
lery, forming  altogether  about  a  thousand 
men,  and  about  a  thousand  native  troops,  or 
sipahees,  all  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Smith  of  the  65th. 

The  fleet  sailed  from  Bombay  in  the  month 
of  September,  and  the  first  incident  of  the 
voyage  was  certainly  au  inauspicious  one,  for 
when  scarcely  clear  of  the  harbour's  mouth, 
the  bottom  of  the  Stromboli  fell  out,  and  the 
vessel  sunk  in  an  instant;  drowning  Lieu- 
tenant Sealy  of  the  Artillery,  and  Lieute- 
nant Taylor  of  the  Marine,  who  were  on 
board,  as  well  as  a  great  portion  of  her 
crew.  This  vessel,  it  seems,  however,  was 
one  of  the  most  unfit  that  could  be  selected 
for  the  service  she  was  destined  to  perform. 
At  a  period  long  previous  to  this,  she  had 
been  condemned  as  unfit  for  service,  and  lay 
for  nearly  three  years  moored  off  the  en- 
trance to  Tannah  river,  or  the  strait  which 
separates  the  Island  of  Salsette  from  the 
Mahratta  coast,  as  a  floating  battery.  From 
thence  she  had  been  removed  to  the  lower 
part  of  Bombay  harbour,  and  moored  at  the 
Sunken  rock  as  a  buoy.  Yet,  on  the  fitting 
out  of  this  expedition  for  the  Persian  Gulf, 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    235 

she  was  thought  fit  not  merely  to  cross  the 
Arabian  Sea,  but  to  be  deeply  laden  with 
bombs  and  shells,  the  heaviest  and  most  dif- 
ficult cargo  to  be  borne  by  any  vessel,  and 
requiring  a  frame  of  more  than  ordinary 
strength  to  support.  The  consequence  of 
this  injudicious,  not  to  say  blind  and  igno- 
rant selection,  was  the  loss  of  the  only  bomb- 
vessel,  in  a  fleet  destined  for  bombarding^ 
with  the  lives  of  two  valuable  officers,  and  a 
portion  of  the  crew  on  board  her. 

The  voyage  was  still  continued,  and  after 
a  long  passage  the  expedition  reached  Mus- 
cat, where  it  remained  for  many  days  to 
refresh  and  arrange  their  future  plans  ;  giv- 
ing thus,  at  the  same  time,  sufficient  advice 
of  their  approach  to  their  enemies,  and  ample 
time  for  them  to  prepare  for  their  reception. 
The  fleet  at  length  sailed,  and  soon  after 
reached  Ras-el-Khyma,  the  chief  port  of  the 
pirates  within  the  Gulf.  Here  the  squadron 
anchored  abreast  of  the  town,  and  the  troops 
were  landed  under  cover  of  the  ships  and 
boats.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  assem- 
bled in  crowds  to  repel  their  invaders  ;  but 
the  firm  line,  the  regular  volleys,  and  the 
steady  charge  of  the  troops  at  the  point  of 


236    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

the  bayonet,  overcame  every  obstacle,  and 
multiplied  the  heaps  of  the  slain.  A  general 
conflagration  was  then  ordered,  and  a  general 
plunder  permitted  to  the  troops.  The  town 
was  set  on  fire  in  all  parts,  and  about  sixty 
sail  of  boats  and  dows,  with  the  Minerva,  a 
ship  which  they  had  taken  from  the  English, 
then  lying  in  the  roads,  were  all  burnt  and 
destroyed. 

The  complete  conquest  of  the  place  was 
thus  effected  with  very  trifling  loss  on  the 
part  of  the  besiegers,  and  some  plunder  col- 
lected ;  though  it  was  thought  that  most  of 
the  treasure  and  valuables  which  they  pos- 
sessed had  been  removed  into  the  interior  on 
the  first  news  of  their  enemies  approach.  A 
journal  of  the  second-mate  of  the  Minerva, 
up  to  the  day  before  the  siege,  was  said  to 
have  been  found,  but  he  himself  was  not 
heard  of;  so  that  he  was  conjectured  to  have 
been  killed  on  the  first  hostile  steps  of  his 
countrymen. 

This  career  of  victory  was,  however,  sud- 
denly damped  by  the  report  of  the  approach 
of  a  large  body  of  troops  from  the  interior, 
and  though  none  of  these  were  seen,  this 
ideal  reinforcement  seemed  to  have  struck  a 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    237 

panic  on  the  leaders  of  the  invading  party. 
A  general  order  was  issued  for  the  plunder 
to  cease,  and  the  troops  were  instantly  re- 
called and  reimbarked.  This  they  did  with 
some  precipitation,  and  were  fired  at  during 
their  retreat  by  the  yet  unsubdued  inha- 
bitants, who  had  rallied  to  bid  a  second  defi- 
ance, or  to  claim  a  victory  over  those  who 
had  thus  hastily  withdrawn. 

The  embarkation  took  place  at  daylight  in 
the  morning  ;  and  while  the  fleet  remained 
at  anchor  during  the  whole  of  the  day,  par- 
ties were  still  seen  assembling  on  the  shore, 
displaying  their  colours,  brandishing  their 
swords  and  spears,  and  discharging  their 
muskets  from  all  points  ;  so  that  the  con- 
quest was  scarcely  as  complete  as  could  be 
wished,  since  no  formal  act  of  submission  had 
yet  been  shown.  The  officers  of  the  expe- 
dition are  themselves  said  to  have  regretted 
that  their  work  was  to  be  abandoned  so  pre- 
maturely ;  but  whether  the  report  of  the 
reinforcements  expected  from  the  interior,  or 
the  temporizing  and  lukewarm  instructions 
of  the  Bombay  Government,  guided  the  mea- 
sures of  the  leaders  in  their  retreat,  is  not 
accurately  known. 


2SS    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

From  Ras-el-Khyma  the  expedition  pro- 
ceeded to  Liriga,  a  small  port  of  the  Joassa- 
mees,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Gulf,  on  the 
Persian  coast,  and  a  little  to  the  eastward  of 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Island  of  Kishma. 
From  this  place  the  inhabitants  fled  into  the 
mountains  on  the  approach  of  the  vessels, 
taking  all  their  moveables  with  them.  The 
town  was,  therefore,  taken  possession  of  with- 
out resistance,  and  burned  to  the  ground,  and 
such  boats  as  were  found  there  were  also 
destroyed. 

The  force  had  now  become  separated,  the 
greater  portion  of  the  troops  being  sent  to 
Muscat  for  supplies,  or  being  deemed  unne- 
cessary, and  some  of  the  vessels  sent  on  se- 
parate services    of  blockading  passages,  &c. 
The  remaining  portion  of  the  expedition,  con- 
sisting of  La  Chiffone  frigate,  and  four  of  the 
cruisers,  the  Mornington,  Ternate,  Nautilus, 
and  Fury,  and  two    transports,   with  about 
five  hundred  troops,  chiefly  British,  proceeded 
from  Linga  to  Luft,  another  port  of  the  Jo- 
assamees,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Island 
of  Kishma.     As  the  channel  here  was  nar- 
row and  difficult  of  approach,  the  ships  were 
warped  into  their  stations  of  anchorage,  and 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    239 

a  summons  was  sent  on  shore,  as  the  people 
had  not  here  abandoned  their  town,  but  were 
found  at  their  posts  of  defence,  in  a  large  and 
strong  castle,  with  many  batteries,  redoubts, 
&c.  well  defended  by  nature  and  strengthened 
by  art.  The  summons  being  treated  with 
disdain,  the  troops  were  landed  with  Colonel 
Smith  at  their  head ;  and  while  forming  on 
the  beach,  a  slight  skirmish  took  place  with 
such  of  the  inhabitants  as  fled  for  shelter  to 
the  castle.  The  troops  then  advanced  to- 
wards the  fortress,  which  is  described  to  have 
had  walls  fourteen  feet  thick,  pierced  with 
loop-holes,  and  only  one  entrance  through  a 
small  gate,  well  cased  with  iron  bars  and 
bolts,  in  the  strongest  manner.  With  a  how- 
itzer, taken  for  the  occasion,  it  was  intended 
to  have  blown  this  gate  open,  and  to  have 
taken  the  place  by  storm  ;  but  on  reaching 
it,  while  the  ranks  opened,  and  the  men 
sought  to  surround  the  castle  to  seek  for  some 
other  entrance  at  the  same  time,  they  were 
picked  off*  so  rapidly  and  unexpectedly  from 
the  loop-holes  above,  that  a  general  flight  took 
place,  the  howitzer  was  abandoned,  even  be- 
fore it  had  been  fired,  and  both  the  officers 
and  the  troops  sought  shelter  by  lying  down 


240    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

behind  the  ridges  of  sand  and  little  hillocks 
immediately  underneath  the  castle  walls. 

An  Irish  officer,  jumping  up  from  his  hid- 
ing-place, and  calling  on  some  of  his  com- 
rades to  follow  him  in  an  attempt  to  rescue 
the  howitzer,  was  killed  in  the  enterprise. 
Such  others  as  even  raised  their  heads  to  look 
around  them,  were  picked  off  by  the  musketry 
from  above ;  and  the  whole  of  the  troops  lay 
therefore  hidden  in  this  way,  until  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night  favoured  their  escape  to  the 
beach,  where  they  embarked  after  sun-set,  the 
enemy  having  made  no  sally  on  them  from 
the  fort.  A  message  was  then  conveyed  by 
some  means  to  the  chief  in  the  castle,  giving 
him  a  second  summons  to  submit,  and  fixing 
on  two  hours  after  midnight  for  the  period  of 
evacuation,  which  if  not  complied  with,  the 
ships,  it  was  threatened,  would  bombard  the 
castle  from  a  nearer  anchorage,  and  no  quar- 
ter be  afterwards  shown.  With  the  dawn  of 
morning,  all  eyes  were  directed  to  the  fortress, 
when,  to  the  surprise  of  the  whole  squadron, 
a  man  was  seen  waving  the  British  Union  flag 
on  the  summit  of  its  walls.  Lieutenant  Hall, 
who  had  commanded  the  Stromboli  bomb 
vessel  at  the  time  of  her  sinking,  and  was 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.      241 

saved  by  swimming,  now  commanded  the 
Fury,  which  was  one  of  the  vessels  nearest  to 
the  shore.  During  the  night  he  had  gone  on 
shore  alone,  taking  an  union-jack  in  his  hand, 
and  advanced  singly  to  the  castle-gate.  The 
fortress  had  already  been  abandoned  by  the 
greater  number  of  the  inhabitants,  but  some 
few  still  remained  there.  These,  however, 
fled  at  the  approach  of  an  individual,  either 
from  deeming  all  further  resistance  unavail- 
ing, or  from  supposing,  probably,  that  no  one 
would  come  singly,  but  as  a  herald  to  others 
immediately  following  for  his  support.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  castle  was  entirely  aban- 
doned, and  the  British  flag  waved  on  its  walls 
by  this  daring  officer,  to  the  surprise  and  ad- 
miration of  all  the  fleet.  The  town  and  for- 
tifications were  then  taken  possession  of ;  and 
as  this  was  a  settlement  which  had  been  taken 
by  the  Joassamees  from  the  Imaum  of  Mus- 
cat, it  was  delivered  over,  with  all  that  it 
contained,  to  such  of  the  Imaum's  people  as 
accompanied  the  expedition  in  their  boats. 

From  Luft  the  forces  proceeded  to  Magoo, 
a  small  port  to  the  eastward,  on  the  Persian 
shore,  between  Cape  Certes  and  Cape  Bestion, 
and  from  thence  to  Shargey,  Geziret-el-Ham- 

VOL.    II.  R 


242    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

mara,  and  Rumms,  three  small  towns  on  the 
opposite  coast,  near  to  Ras-el-Khyma,  where 
nothing  was  effected  ;  but  the  destruction  of 
such  boats  as  were  found  at  each  of  them ; 
this  being  the  extent  of  the  orders  of  the 
Bombay  Government,  as  it  would  seem,  to 
the  leaders  of  the  expedition. 

When  the  bottom  of  the  Gulf  had  been 
thus  swept  round,  the  expedition  returned  to 
Muscat,  where  they  rejoined  the  detached 
forces  under  the  Caroline  frigate,  and  remain- 
ed some  days  at  this  rendezvous  to  refresh 
and  repose. 

On  the  sailing  of  the  fleet  from  hence, 
the  forces  were  augmented  by  a  body  of  troops 
belonging  to  the  Imaum,  destined  to  assist  in 
the  recovery  of  a  place  called  Shenaz,  on  the 
coast,  about  midway  between  Muscat  and 
Cape  Mussunndom,  taken  from  him  by  the 
Joassamees.  On  their  arrival  at  this  place, 
a  summons  was  sent,  commanding  the  fort 
to  surrender,  which  being  refused,  a  bom- 
bardment was  opened  from  the  ships  and 
boats,  but  without  producing  much  effect. 
On  the  following  morning,  the  whole  of  the 
troops  were  landed,  and  a  regular  encamp- 
ment  formed  on  the  shore,  with   sand-bat- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    TIRATES.    243 

teries,  and  other  necessary  works  for  a  siege. 
After  several  days  bombardment,  in  which 
about  four  thousand  shot  and  shells  were 
discharged  against  the  fortress,  to  which  the 
people  had  all  fled  for  refuge  after  burning 
down  their  own  town,  a  breach  was  reported 
to  be  practicable,  and  the  castle  was  accord- 
ingly .stormed.  The  resistance  made  was  still 
desperate  ;  the  Arabs  fighting  as  long  as  they 
could  wield  the  sword,-  and  even  thrusting 
their  spears  up  through  the  fragments  of 
towers,  in  whose  ruins  they  remained  irre- 
coverably buried.  The  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  among  them  was  thought  to  be  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  men. 

The  fort  of  Shenaz  was  then  delivered  up 
to  the  troops  of  the  Imaum  of  Muscat ;  but 
this  being  a  place  which  afforded  no  shelter 
to  boats,  none  were  found  here.  The  object 
of  the  expedition  was  now  thought  to  be  suf- 
ficiently effected,  and  the  troops  and  trans- 
ports were  sent  from  hence  to  Bombay, 
though  the  frigates  and  the  cruisers  again 
repaired  to  the  Gulf,  where  they  remained  for 
several  months  before  they  finally  dispersed. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  object  of  this 
expedition  against  the  Joassamees  might  be 

11  2 


^ 


2144    HISTORY   OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

said  to  be  incomplete,  inasmuch  as  nothing 
less  than  a  total  extirpation  of  their  race 
could  secure  the  tranquillity  of  these  seas, 
yet  the  effect  produced  by  this  expedition 
was  such,  as  to  make  them  reverence  or  dread 
the  British  flag  for  several  years  afterwards. 

Not  long  after  the  termination  of  this  ex- 
pedition against  the  Joassamees,  a  messenger 
was  deputed  by  them  to  settle  some  disputed 
aiFair,  and  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the 
English,  through  Mr.  Bruce,  their  agent  at 
Bushire.  This  was  effected  on  terms  which 
promised  a  perpetual  respect  to  the  British 
flag,  and  was  closed  with  all  the  professions 
of  mutual  and  eternal  friendship  which  cha- 
racterize treaties  of  a  higher  order  among 
European  as  well  as  Asiatic  nations  ;  where, 
as  in  this,  the  friendship  professed  is  neither 
felt  nor  meant,  and  where  an  intention  al- 
ways exists  of  breaking  the  eternal  pledge 
of  union  the  moment  it  is  convenient  and 
profitable  so  to  do. 

On  the  return  of  the  Deputy  to  Ras-el- 
Khyma,  he  was  asked  by  the  chief  and  the 
heads  of  the  people  how  he  had  succeeded  in 
his  mission.  He  replied,  "  admirably,"  under 
the  full  expectation  of  applause  for  his  con- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    245 

duct  in  the  negotiation,  as  he  said  he  had 
now  the  satisfaction  to  assure  them  that  he 
had  made  the  Joassamees  on  a  perfect  footing 
of  equality  with  the  English  themselves,  and 
that  in  all  their  relations  to  each  other  they 
were  henceforth  to  be  considered  on  a  level. 
Some  ianatic  hearer  of  the  assembly,  giving 
an  interpretation  to  this  assertion,  which  was 
seemingly  not  meant  by  the  maker  of  it,  in- 
sisted that  the  faithful  followers  of  the  Pro- 
phet, and  the  only  remnant  of  the  worship- 
pers of  the  true  God  left  on  the  earth,  had 
been  dishonoured  by  such  an  association  as 
that  of  an  equality  with  infidels  and  stran- 
gers to  the  Word,  and  that  the  promulgator 
of  such  disgrace  ought  therefore  to  receive 
the  punishment  diie  to  his  crime.  The 
spark  once  kindled,  the  flame  of  holy  pride 
soon  blazed  more  ardently,  and,  quickened 
by  zeal,  raged  at  length  with  ungovernable 
fury  in  every  breast.  The  obnoxious  am- 
bassador was  first  disgraced  and  rendered 
contemptible,  by  having  his  beard  plucked 
out  by  the  roots  and  his  face  smeared  with 
human  excrement;  when,  in  this  state,  he 
was  placed  on  an  ass,  with  his  face  towards 
its  tail,  and  thus  driven  by  the  women  and 


246      HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIllATES. 

children    round  the  town,  as    an    object  of 
derision  to  all  beholders  * 

Several  minor  incidents  of  ambiguous  in- 
terpretation gradually  occurred,  to  excite  a 
suspicion  of  the  growing  pride  and  power  of 
the  Joassamee  pirates  ;  and  some  disputes 
had  taken  place  between  their  boats  and  the 
cruisers  of  the  Bombay  Marine,  as  to  the 
legality  of  their  capturing  Arab  vessels  un- 
der their  convoy.  A  case  at  length  appear- 
ed, which  left  no  further  doubt  of  their  re- 


*  When  the  messengers  of  David  were  sent  from  Jerusalem 
unto  Hanun,  the  King  of  the  Ammonites,  at  his  capital  beyond 
the  Jordan,  to  offer  him  condolence  for  the  loss  of  his  father  Na- 
hash,  these  were  suspected  by  the  Ammonitish  courtiers  to  be 
spies ;  on  which  occasion,  the  punishment  inflicted  on  them  was 
that  of  having  one-half  of  their  beards  shaved  off,  and  their 
garments  "  docked  even  to  their  buttocks/'  as  the  Scripture 
phrase  is,  when  they  were  sent  away.  This  loss  of  the  beard 
was  thought  to  be  of  so  much  importance,  that  David,  when 
he  heard  of  it,  sent  to  meet  them,  because  the  men  were  greatly 
ashamed ;  and  the  King  said,  *'  Tarry  at  Jericho  until  your 
beards  be  grown,  and  then  return." — 2  Sam.  c.  x.  verse  1 — 6. 

It  was  one  of  the  most  infamous  punishments  of  cowardice  in 
Sparta,  to  cause  those  who  turned  their  backs  in  the  day  of 
battle,  to  appear  abroad  with  one-half  of  their  beards  shaved 
and  the  other  half  unshaved. — Burder'a  IllustrationSj\o\.  i.  p.  72, 

D'Arvieux  mentions  an  instance  of  an  Arab,  who,  having 
received  a  wound  in  his  jaw,  chose  to  hazard  his  life  rather 
than  suffer  his  beard  to  be  taken  off  to  facilitate  the  cure. — Ibid, 

These 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.     247 

newed  hostile  intentions,  and  of  their  desire 
of  revenge  having  kept  pace  with  their  grow- 
ing strength.  In  1815,  their  boats  began  to 
infest  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea ;  and  in 
1816,  their  numbers  had  so  encreased  on  that 
coast,  that  a  squadron  of  them,  commanded 
by  one  of  their  chiefs,  called  Ameer  Ibra- 
him, captured,  within  sight  of  Mocha,  four 
vessels,  bound  from  Surat  to  that  port,  rich- 
ly laden,  navigating  under  the  British  flag, 
sailing  under   British  passports,   and   being 

These  instances  show  the  antiquity  of  the  punishment,  and 
the  degree  of  disgrace  which  it  is  supposed  to  imply.  Though 
these  refer  to  shaving,  cases  are  mentioned  of  plucking  off  the 
hair,  which  must  have  been  equally  infamous,  and  more  pain- 
ful. Nehemiah  inflicted  this  punishment  on  certain  Jews,  who, 
as  he  says,  had  married  wives  of  Ashdod,  of  Ammon,  and  of 
Moab,  and  like  Solomon,  the  beloved  of  God,  and  unequalled 
among  the  kings  of  the  earth,  had  been  led  by  these  outlandish 
women  into  sin. — Nehemiah,  c.  xiii.  v.  25,  26. 

As  a  refinement  of  this  cruelty,  they  sometimes  put  hot  ashes 
on  the  skin,  after  they  had  torn  off  the  hair,  to  make  the  pain 
more  exquisite.  Thus  they  served  adulterers  at  Athens,  as  is 
observed  by  the  Scholiast  on  Aristophanes  in  Nubibus.  This 
kind  of  punishment  was  common  in  Persia.  King  Artaxerxes, 
says  Plutarch  in  his  Apothegms,  instead  of  plucking  off  the  hair 
of  such  of  his  generals  as  had  been  guilty  of  a  fault,  obliged 
them  to  lay  aside  the  tiara.  The  Emperor  Domitian  caused  the 
hair  and  beard  of  the  philosopher  ApoUonius  to  be  shaved. — 
Philoitratus,  lib.  iii.  c.  24. 


248    HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

subject  to  British  laws.  The  crews  of  these 
were  massacred,  according  to  their  usual  cus- 
tom, and  only  a  few  individuals  escaped  to 
tell  their  story. 

Some  months  had  indeed  elapsed  before 
the  details  of  this  affair  were  accurately 
known  ;  but  on  their  becoming  so,  a  squa- 
dron was  assembled  at  Bombay,  consisting 
of  his  Majesty's  sloop  Challenger,  of  eigh- 
teen guns,  and  the  East  India  Company's 
cruisers.  Mercury,  of  fourteen  guns,  and 
Vestal,  of  twelve  guns,  to  sail  to  the  Per- 
sian Gulf.  By  these,  a  dispatch  was  for- 
warded to  Mr.  Bruce,  the  Resident  at  Bu- 
shire,  instructing  him  to  remonstrate  with, 
and  to  make  certain  demands  from  the  chief 
at  Ras-el-Khyma.  The  squadron  left  Bom- 
bay in  the  early  part  of  September,  and  after 
a  long  and  disastrous  voyage,  in  which  the 
Mercury  lost  her  mainmast  at  sea,  the  Chal- 
lenger reached  Bushire  in  November,  and 
the  other  vessels  in  a  few  days  afterwards. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  Ariel,  which  had 
touched  here  on  her  way  down  from  Bus- 
sorah,  had  been  dispatched  to  Ras-el-Khy- 
ma with  a  first  letter  from  Mr.  Bruce,  en- 
quiring into  the  circumstances  of  the  cap- 


HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES.    249 

ture  alluded  to,  and  reproaching  them  with 
a  breach  of  faith  in  their  departure  from 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  made  by  them  to 
the  British  flag.  The  answer  returned  to 
this  by  the  Ariel  was,  first,  a  flat  denial  of 
the  capture  of  any  vessels  of  any  description 
in  the  Red  Sea  about  the  time  specified  ; 
and  next,  a  declaration  of  total  ignorance  of 
the  fact  assumed  regarding  the  ships  from 
Surat.  This  denial  was  followed  up  with 
the  remark,  that  even  if  they  had  captured 
the  vessels  in  question,  they  would  have 
strictly  observed  the  terms  of  their  treaty, 
which  were  to  keep  peace  with,  and  respect 
the  property  of  the  English,  by  which  they 
meant  those  of  the  "  sect  of  Jesus"  only ; 
never  once  renouncing  their  right  to  destroy 
all  idolatrous  Indians,  and  to  extirpate  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  all  the  worshippers  of 
false  gods. 

This  was  just  the  state  of  things  at  the 
present  moment ;  and  it  was  therefore  deter- 
mined that  Mr.  Bruce  and  Mr.  Taylor,  with 
their  writers  and  interpreters,  should  go 
down  to  Ras-el-Khyma  to  make  the  formal 
requisitions  ordered  by  the  Government ; 
and  the  whole  of  the  squadron  were  to  pro- 


250      HISTORY    OF    THE    JOASSAMEE    PIRATES. 

ceed  together,  to  give  respectability  and  in- 
fluence to  the  mission.  The  terms  of  the 
requisition  pointed  out  by  the  Government 
were  these: — To  demand  a  restitution  of 
the  Surat  vessels  and  their  cargoes,  or  the 
amount  of  their  value  in  money,  which  was 
fixed  at  twelve  lacks  of  rupees ;  to  deliver 
up  Ameer  Ibrahim,  the  commander  of  the 
Joassamee  squadron  at  the  time  of  the  cap- 
ture, for  punishment;  and  to  place  two  per- 
sons of  distinction  in  the  hands  of  the  British, 
as  hostages  for  their  future  good  behaviour. 
In  the  event  of  complying  with  these  terms, 
the  past,  it  was  understood,  would  be  at  least 
pardoned,  if  not  forgotten  ;  and,  with  the 
same  mistaken  lenity,  it  was  simply  said,  that 
if  the  terms  were  rejected,  the  squadron,  on 
leaving  the  port,  were  tq  signify  to  the  chief, 
that  he  might  expect  the  displeasure  of  the 
British  Government  to  be  visited  on  his 
contempt  of  their  flag. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


RUINS  OF  ORMUZ,  WITH  ITS  TOWN  AND  BAY. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VOYAGE    FROM     BUSHIRE    DOWN    THE    PERSIAN 
GULF. RUINS    OF    ORMUZ. 

Nov.  18th. — It  was  on  the  morning  of  the 
18th  of  November  that  we  all  embarked  on 
board  the  Mercury,  when  the  squadron  made 
sail  from  the  inner  roads  of  Bushire,  with  a 
light  north-east  air ;  but  it  faUing  calm,  we 
brought  up  again  in  the  outer  roads,  where 
we  remained  at  anchor  during  the  remainder 
of  the  day,  and  weighed  again  after  sunset, 
as  the  land  breeze  sprung  up. 

Nov.  19th. — The  wind  still  continued  light, 
but  the  weather  was  most  agreeable,  and  our 
occupations  such  as  were  favourable  both  to 
health  and  pleasure,  as  the  most  perfect  una- 
nimity prevailed  throughout  our  crowded 
party.     Our  place  at  noon  was  in  lat.  28°  M' 


25^  VOYAGE    FROJVI    BUSHIRE 

north,  and  long.  50°  40'  east,  with  the  distant 
mountains  of  the  Persian  coast  in  sight,  and 
our  depth  of  water  twenty-seven  fathoms. 

In  the  afternoon  we  witnessed  an  echpse  of 
the  sun,  in  which  more  than  three-fourths  of 
its  disk  were  darkened,  and  the  effect  during  a 
perfect  calm  was  singularly  impressive.  The 
appearance  was  that  of  a  bright  moonlight ; 
but  though  the  sky  was  quite  cloudless,  no 
stars  were  to  be  seen,  and  the  universal  still- 
ness that  reigned  around  gave  something  of 
awfulness  to  the  scene.  At  sun-set  we  had 
Cape  Berdistan  on  the  Persian  shore,  erro- 
neously called  Cape  Kenn  in  Arrowsmith's 
chart,  bearing  south-east  by  east,  several 
leagues  distant,  and  were  still  in  twenty- 
seven  fathoms  water. 

Between  Bushire  and  Cape  Berdistan  lies 
Khore  Zeana,  which,  from  its  relative  position 
between  these  projecting  points,  corresponds 
accurately  enough  with  the  Hieratis  of  Arrian, 
which  is  placed  seven  hundred  and  fifty  stadia 
from  Sitakus,  and  where,  the  historian  says, 
'  Nearchus  anchored  in  a  cut  which  is  de- 
rived from  the  river  to  the  sea,  and  is  called 
Hartimis.'^     It  would  be  deemed  presumptu- 

*  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  c.  39. 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  253 

ous  tb  say  that  iio  such  place  as  Gilla  exists 
hereabouts ;  though,  from  its  being  fixed  on 
as  the  site  of  this  anchorage  of  the  Mace- 
donian fleet,  I  had  been  careful  in  my  en- 
quiries after  it,  and  had  yet  met  with  no  one 
who  knew  a  place  of  such  a  name.  The 
names  of  Kierazin,  Zezane,  &c.  as  derivations 
from  Kauzeroon,  were  all  equally  unknown 
to  the  pilots  and  fishermen,  whom  we  con- 
sulted ;  and  made  me  almost  regret  that  so 
much  etymological  criticism  had  been  exer- 
cised on  a  nonentity,  for  the  sake  of  recon- 
ciling only  seeming  differences  of  name.  Ze- 
ara,  which  is  the  name  of  the  creek,  is  quite 
as  near  to  Hieratis  as  Gilla,  and  needs  no 
torturing  to  make  it  appear  so.  It  is  the 
same  which  is  called  Khore-Esseri  by  Nie- 
buhr ;  though  not,  as  Dr.  Vincent  thought, 
the  Koucher  of  Thevenot, — that  being,  I 
think,  more  likely  to  correspond  with  the 
Khueer  above,  as  wanting  only  the  German 
pronunciation  of  the  cA,  to  make  it  the  same 
name.  Sir  Harford  Jones's  conjecture  that 
Khore-Esseri  means  Khore-el-Zigeer,  or  the 
Little  Khore,  is  another  unhappy  attempt  to 
display  an  acquaintance  with  Arabic  etymo- 
logy.    Such  labour  would  have  been  better 


254  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIRE 

applied  in  correcting  the  orthography  of  the 
stations  between  Hilleh  and  Bagdad,  given 
in  another  part  of  the  work ;  where  there 
are  names  whose  import  could  not  have  been 
understood,  and  a  sight  of  which  is  sufficient 
to  destroy  all  the  writer's  credit  as  an  Ori- 
entalist. Dr.  Vincent  displayed  more  judg- 
ment in  observing  that  Khore-Esseri  was 
literally  the  channel  of  Esseri ;  though,  he 
adds,  that  Esser  doubtless  has  a  relative  sense. 
Zeara  is  the  pronunciation  of  the  pilots,  and 
this  is  near  enough  to  Esseri  to  suppose  it  to 
be  the  same ;  but  I  could  learn  no  relative 
meaning  that  this  possessed. 

Tangeseer  may  possibly  be  the  town  called 
Gilla  in  the  English  charts,  and  thought  to 
derive  its  name  from  Halilah.  This  appel- 
lation is  given  by  the  people  of  the  country 
to  the  range  of  hills  lying  at  the  back  of  the 
plain  on  the  sea-shore  here,  and  going  nearly 
north  and  south  from  just  above  Berdistan 
to  below  Bushire.  The  high  peaked  hill, 
called  Halilah  by  us,  is  known  to  the  pilots 
by  the  name  of  Koormoutche,  and  imme- 
diately follows  the  northern  extreme  of  the 
Halilah  range. 

The  Khore  Khueer  which  remains,  is  close 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  255 

to  the  foot  of  the  peninsula  of  Bushire,  and 
is  small,  and  seldom  frequented,  from  its  vi- 
cinity to  this  port.  This  may  perhaps  be 
the  Koucher  of  Thevenot,  which  is  however 
doubtful ;  but  it  is  certainly  not  the  Padar- 
gus  of  Arrian,  the  next  station  of  Nearchus 
beyond  Hieratis ;  for  the  historian  expressly 
says : — '  In  this  passage  they  had  followed 
the  winding  of  the  coast  round  a  peninsula, 
(on  which  they  saw  plantations  and  gardens, 
with  all  kinds  of  fruit-trees,)  and  anchored 
at  a  place  called  Mesambria.'^  This,  there- 
fore, could  be  only  descriptive  of  the  penin- 
sula of  Bushire,  to  the  northward  of  which 
this  station  is  to  be  sought  for. 

Nov.  20th. — The  night  had  been  dark  and 
heavy,  and  just  before  daylight  a  tremendous 
squall,  accompanied  with  thunder,  lightning, 
and  rain,  burst  upon  us  from  the  north-west, 
and  blew  for  some  time  with  irresistible  fury. 
The  ships  of  the  squadron  were  reduced  to 
the  topsails  on  the  cap,  and  yet  felt  the  fury 
of  the  blast,  though  flying  right  before  it. 
When  it  broke  at  sunrise,  the  wind  settled 
into  a  steady  breeze  from  the  north-east,  and 
the  violence  of  the  change  in   the  weather 

*  Voyage  of  Noaichus,  c.  39. 


^56  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIUE 

was  considered  as  an  effect  of  the  eclipse  of 
the  preceding  day.  In  the  course  of  the 
morning  two  ships  passed  us  in-shore,  on 
their  way  to  Bushire  ;  but  though  the  Vestal 
chased  them  and  displayed  signals,  no  com- 
munication could  be  effected. 

At  noon,  the  ship's  place  was  in  latitude 
27«  SO'  north,  and  longitude  50«  50'  east, 
with  the  Hummocks  of  Khan,  north-east  half 
north,  in  thirty-five  fathoms,  the  winds  light 
and  variable  through  the  afternoon,  and  our 
water  gradually  deepening  to  thirty-nine 
fathoms  at  midnight. 

The  low  woody  land  beneath  the  mountains 
of  Khan,  in  sight  of  which  we  now  were,  is 
called  by  the  natives  Umm-el-Goorm,  which 
last  word  was  interpreted  by  the  Indian  name 
of  jungle,  meaning,  a  thick  brush-wood,  or 
what  would  be  called  in  England,  a  wilder- 
ness, and  in  America,  '  uncleared  land.'  We 
were  assured  also,  that  near  this  Umm-el- 
Goorm,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  Khan, 
was  a  small  khore  or  creek  for  boats,  retain- 
ing the  name  of  the  place  itself,  though  the 
people  knew  of  no  town  existing  there  now, 
or  of  any  ruins  of  an  old  one. 

This  creek  corresponds  accurately  enough 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  257 

with  the  Sitakus  of  Arrian,  who  might  easily 
have  given  the  name  of  a  river  to  an  arm  of 
salt  water,  long  and  narrow,  and  affording 
shelter  to  vessels  ;  as  in  India,  among  our  own 
countrymen  even  at  the  present  hour,  the  arm 
of  the  sea  which  separates  Salsette  from  the 
Mahratta  territory,  is  called  the  Bassein  and 
Tannah  river,  though  it  is  connected  both  at 
its  entrance  and  exit,  or  source  and  mouth, 
(if  it  may  be  so  said,)  with  the  ocean.  As  no 
town  is  mentioned  by  the  historian,  no  one  is 
to  be  sought  for  now  ;  but  there  is  great  pro- 
bability that  the  broad  valley  which  we  saw 
going  up  from  the  sea-side  into  the  interior, 
is  one  of  the  passes  leading  through  the 
mountains  to  Firouzabad. 

This  city  lay  at  the  distance  of  a  degree 
and  a  half  only  from  the  coast  at  Berdistan  ; 
and  as  Nearchus,  during  his  stay  here  of 
twenty-one  days,  to  refit,  received  supplies 
of  corn,  which  were  sent  down  to  him  by 
Alexander,  it  has  been  conjectured,  with 
great  probability,  that  the  division  of  the 
Macedonian  army  under  Hephestion,  was 
halting  here  at  Firouzabad,  while  Alexander 
was  yet  to  the  eastward  beyond  the  moun- 
tains, and  that  it  was  from  the  stores  of  He- 

VOL,  II.  s 


258  VOYAGE    FROM   BUSHIRE 

phestion's  division  that  the  supplies  came. 
It  has  been  thought  that  a  river  called  Sita 
Reghian  descended  from  hence  to  the  sea, 
and  the  name  of  Sitakus  was  conceived  to 
be  perceptible  in  this ;  but  all  my  enquiries 
after  such  a  stream  led  to  no  confirmation  of 
its  existence.  It  is  certain  that  there  was 
water  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Firouzabad ; 
but  even  this  seems  to  have  been  artificially 
conducted  hither  from  the  mountains,  and 
to  have  been  afterwards  exhausted  in  cultiva- 
tion before  it  reached  the  sea. 

In  some  loose  extracts  and  notes  now  be- 
fore me,  and  made  for  my  journey  through 
Persia,  I  find  the  following  confirmations  of 
this  fact.  "  During  the  reign  of  Firouz,  there 
was  a  great  famine,  in  which,  however,  from 
his  precautions,  only  one  subject  died  of  hun- 
ger at  Arderschir."  This  city,  says  De  Sacy, 
in  a  note  on  the  passage  above,  from  Mirk- 
hond,  is  no  doubt  the  same  that  the  Persian 
geographer  calls  Arderschir  Khoureh,  and 
which  was  afterwards  called  Firouzabad.  It 
is  placed  by  Eastern  writers  in  the  third 
climate,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ob- 
jects it  contained  was,  according  to  them,  a 
lofty  edifice   in    the  centre,  for  a   pure  air, 


DOWN   THE    PEIiSlAN    GULF.  259 

which  building  was  called  Ivan.  Around  the 
place  was  a  large  platform,  and  water  was 
conducted  there  from  the  mountains.  When 
Alexander  conquered  Persia,  he  could  not 
master  this  place,  say  they,  from  the  difficulty 
of  getting  at  it ;  but  turning  the  waters  of  the 
brook  Khanikan  from  their  course,  he  laid 
the  edifice  under  water,  and  made  the  whole 
town  a  lake.  Ardeschir  employed  an  artist 
to  drain  the  place,  who  dug  a  subterraneous 
canal,  and  when  he  opened  it,  was  himself 
chained  round  the  middle  for  safety,  but  was 
borne  away  by  the  strength  of  the  current. 
The  passage  itself  then  fell  into  ruins.  Ar- 
deschir subsequently  built  on  the  same 
place  the  city  of  Ardeschir  Khoureh,  which 
was  afterwards  repaired  by  Adhad-el-Dow- 
la,  a  Dilemite  prince,  who  called  it  Firouza- 
bad.  Here  the  same  writers  assure  us  that 
all  the  water  which  was  used  for  drinking 
was  procured  from  the  brook  of  Khanikan, 
since  called  Beraveh,  or  Bezazeh,  and  that 
the  air  of  the    lace  was  bad  and  corrupt. 

Notwithstanding  these  defects,  however, 
this  capital  of  the  district  of  Ardeschir  was 
cekbrated,  as  Dr.  Vincent  observes,  for  its 
gardens,  its  vineyards,  and  its  roses,  as  pre- 

s  2 


260  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIRE 

eminent  in  Persia,  as  those  of  Paestum  in 
Italy  ;  and  Eastern  geographers,  while  they 
praise  the  inhabitants  as  being  a  sensible 
and  honest  race,  do  not  omit  to  mention, 
that  there  was  finer  rose-water  made  here 
than  in  any  part  of  the  other  provinces  of 
the  kingdom.^ 

The  ruins  of  this  city  are  still  very  con- 
siderable, according  to  the  reports  given  by 
a  native  of  Fasa  to  Mr.  Morier,  and  by  him, 
the  Atesh  Gau,  or  chief  fire-temple  of  the 
Guebres,  is  placed  in  a  cave  at  Firouzabad. 
Col.  Kinnier,  however,  who  seems  to  speak 
from  personal  observation,  makes  the  Atesh 
Kudda,  or  fire-temple  of  Firoze  Shah,  to  be 
a  building  with  three  immense  domes,  and 
three  small  apartments  before  and  behind, 
arched  with  small  rough  stones,  and  cement- 
ed with  lime.  This,  I  should  think,  was 
much  more  likely  to  be  the  remains  of  the 
lofty  edifice  of  Ivan,  which  was  reared  in  the 
centre  of  the  city  for  catching  a  pure  air ; 
and  the  style  of  a  building  with  three  im- 
mense domes  would  be  more  suited  to  such 
a  pui*pose  than  to  a  fire-temple. 

I    remember  a    similar  error    of   Captain 

*  De  Sacy,  M^moires,  p.  -346. 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  261 

Lockett,   who   is  said   to   have  pronounced 
the    Birs,    or  Tower   of  Belus    at  Babylon, 
to  have  been  a  fire-temple  also.     It  is  well 
known,   however,    that    caves    and    elevated 
places,  on  the  tops  of  mountains,  were  fre- 
quently chosen  by  the  fire-worshippers  for 
their  devotions  ;  and  all  the  fire-temples  that 
I  have  seen  throughout  Persia,  which  were 
unequivocally   the    remains    of   early    ages, 
were  mere  altars,  in  the  open  air,  fitted  for 
retaining  fire  on  their  summits  ;    and  some 
of  them,  particularly  those  at  Naksh-e-Rus- 
tan,  near  Persepolis,  not  more  than  two  or 
three  feet  square,  and  others  near  Ispahan, 
but   very  little  larger.      Captain  Maude  of 
the  navy,  who  saw  both  the  Tower  of  Be- 
lus and  this  edifice  at  Firouzabad,  assured 
Mr.  Williams,  his  companion,  that  they  re- 
sembled each  other  both  in  size,  form,  and 
materials  ;  but  if  so,   it   could  not  be    this 
building,  with  three  immense  domes ;    nor 
the  square  edifice  mentioned  by  Kinnier,  as 
differing  in  form  and  style  from  any  around 
it,  and  built  of  hewn  stone,  linked  together 
with  clamps  of  iron ;    nor  the  stone  pillar 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet   in  height,  and 
twenty  in  diameter  at  the  base;  which  are 


262  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIRE 

said  by  this  writer  to  be  the  only  antiqui- 
ties worthy  of  remark  in  the  plain  of  Fi- 
rouzabad,  and  which  have  certainly  no  re- 
semblance to  any  of  the  remains  at  Babylon. 

What  is  more  to  the  present  purpose, 
however,  and  what  must  draw  us  back  from 
this  excursion  from  the  shore,  is  that  in 
describing  the  modern  town  of  Firouzabad 
as  an  inconsiderable  place,  the  same  author 
says,  that  the  water  of  the  river  which  flows 
through  the  plain  here,  is  absorbed  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  land.  We  must  resort, 
therefore,  to  the  former  supposition,  that  if 
no  fresh  stream  descended  to  the  sea  in  the 
time  of  Alexander  any  more  than  now,  the 
inlet  of  the  Khore  of  Umm-el-Goorm  was 
characterised  by  his  admiral  as  a  river,  as 
narrow  creeks  of  the  sea  are  even  now  fre- 
quently called  rivers  by  the  most  experienced 
and  scientific  sailors  and  hydrographers  of 
the  present  day. 

Nov.  21st. —  The  winds  still  continued 
light  and  variable,  though  chiefly  from  the 
eastern  quarter,  and  our  progress  was  ac- 
cordingly slow.  We  had  seen  few  fish,  and 
no  weeds  in  the  course  of  our  voyage,  but 
great  varieties  of   the  substance   called   by 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  263 

sailors  blubber,  and  a  number  of  sea-snakes, 
ringed  black  and  white,  and  varying  from  one 
to  four  feet  in  length,  and  from  one  to  four 
inches  in  circumference.  These  swim  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  sometimes  coil  them- 
selves in  circles,  and  seem  to  have  the  same 
wavy  motion  which  distinguishes  the  pro- 
gress of  snakes  on  shore.  Their  food  is  pro- 
bably small  flies  or  animalculae  found  near 
the  surface,  as  these  are  generally  seen  there, 
though  they  sometimes  plunge  below,  at  the 
approach  of  supposed  danger.  In  doing  this, 
it  is  said  that  they  rear  their  heads  high  out 
of  the  water,  as  if  to  effect  some  change  in 
the  state  of  the  lungs,  and  dive  down  head- 
foremost in  nearly  a  perpendicular  line. 
These  sea-serpents  differ  in  their  appear- 
ance from  those  seen  on  the  approach  to 
Bombay,  as  the  latter  are  of  a  yellowish 
colour,  but  the  former  are  ringed  black  and 
white.  Both  of  these,  however,  live  only 
within  soundings,  or  where  the  depth  of 
water  is  less  than  one  hundred  fathoms,  so 
that  their  habits  must  sometimes  lead  them 
to  the  ground ;  and  the  bite  of  both  is  said 
to  be  poisonous.  In  cases  of  irritation,  those 
of  Bombay  have  been  known  to  bite  fisher- 


264  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIRE 

men,  who  threw  them  from  their  nets,  and 
who  afterwards  died  of  the  wound  ;  and  in 
an  experiment  made  on  a  fowl  by  the  bite 
of  a  small  serpent  found  in  the  Persian  Gulf, 
the  bird  died  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes.* 

At  noon  we  were  in  lat.  27^  11'  north,  and 
long.  5P  15'  east,  with  a  remarkable  piece  of 
table  land  on  the  Persian  shore,  called  Barn 
Hill,  bearing  north-east,  half-north ;  and  a 
notch  in  the  high  land  over  Astola,  bearing 
east  by  north,  half-north,  in  thirty-five  fa- 
thoms water.  Just  below  the  port  of  Kan- 
goon,  which  is  immediately  under  this  Barn 
Hill,  is  a  port  called  Tauhree,  or  Tahiree, 
where  extensive  ruins  are  spoken  of,  with 
sculptures  and  inscriptions  in  the  Persepo- 
litan  character.  Among  the  ruins  of  the 
city  are   said  to  be  two   exceedingly  deep 

*  The  prognostic  of  approaching  the  river  Indus,  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  snakes  rising  up  from  the  bottom,  and  floating  on 
the  surface  ;  and  a  similar  occurrence  of  a  reptile  called  Grace 
is  noticed  on  the  coast  of  Persis. — Perip.  Eryth.  Sea.  India j 
vol.  i.  p.  95, 

The  approach  to  the  bay  of  Barake,  (or  the  Gulf  of  Cutch)  is 
discoverable  by  the  appearance  of  snakes,  very  large  and  black. 
The  same  occurrence  takes  place  also  along  the  coast  of  Guze- 
rat,  and  at  Barugaza,  (or  Baroache) ;  but  the  snakes  there  are 
smaller,  paler,  and  of  a  colour  approaching  to  gold. — Ibid,  p.  97. 


DOWN    THE    PEESIAN    GULF.  265 

wells,  and  stables  sufficient  to  contain  a  hun- 
dred horses,  excavated  from  the  solid  rock. 

The  weather  continued  light,  and  the 
winds  variable  from  the  eastward;  our  pro- 
gress still  slow,  and  our  water  deepening 
gradually  to  forty  fathoms  at  midnight. 

It  is  in  this  bay  that  Rangoon  is  situated  ; 
and  both  the  name,  the  relative  position,  and 
the  local  features  of  the  place,  as  far  as  we 
could  collect  them  from  the  information  of 
those  whom  we  consulted,  all  agree  accu- 
rately with  those  of  Gogana,  one  of  the  sta- 
tions at  which  the  fleet  of  Nearchus  anchor- 
ed, and  placed  by  Arrian  at  the  mouth  of  a 
winter  torrent  called  Areon.  "  The  place," 
he  says,  "  was  not  without  inhabitants,  but 
the  anchorage  unsafe,  on  account  of  the  shoals 
and  breakers  which  appeared  on  the  ebb  of 
the  tide,  and  the  approach  was  narrow  and 
dangerous."*  A  winter  brook  is  not,  how- 
ever, to  be  found  always  in  the  same  spot  at 
any  distance  of  time ;  and,  accordingly,  we 
could  learn  nothing  of  a  stream  now  exist- 
ing at  Rangoon,  sufficiently  large  to  deserve 
notice ;  although,  as  the  natives  said,  when- 
ever it  rained  hard  at  this  place,  the  rain 

*  Arrian's  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  38. 


266  VOYAGE    FROM   BUSHIRE 

formed  torrents,  as  it  did  every  where  else 
in  the  world ;  and  they  wondered  that  we 
should  enquire  after  this  as  a  singularity,  or 
peculiar  to  Rangoon  alone,  for  so  they  un- 
derstood the  drift  of  our  enquiries.  We  sub- 
sequently learnt  that  there  was  a  stream  of 
fresh  water  which  descended  from  the  moun- 
tains above  Rangoon  ;  but  it  was  added,  that 
this  did  not  discharge  itself  into  the  sea^ 
being  exhausted  among  the  date-grounds  be- 
fore it  reached  the  shore.  On  this  stream,  at 
about  two  hours  from  the  town,  a  water-mill 
once  stood,  at  which  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try had  their  corn  ground ;  and  a  well  is 
mentioned,  not  far  off,  having  thirty-three 
yards  of  water  in  it,  and  sending  up  a  bub- 
bling spring  above  its  brink  in  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  In  the  time  of  Alexander, 
therefore,  a  winter  torrent  may  easily  be  sup- 
posed to  have  discharged  itself  into  the  sea 
at  Gogana.  The  character  of  the  anchorage, 
as  having  shoals  and  breakers  near  it,  which 
showed  themselves  on  the  ebb-tide,  is  still, 
however,  characteristic  of  the  place ;  and  the 
approach,  if  made  near  to  them,  is  still  narrow 
and  dangerous.  But  those  very  shoals  and 
breakers,  which  were  objects  of  terror  to  a 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  267 

Greek  fleet,  are  the  cause  of  the  secure  an- 
chorage afforded  by  them  to  vessels  navigated 
after  the  improved  method  of  the  moderns ; 
as  ships  anchoring  in  deep  water,  at  a  suffi- 
cient distance  from  them  to  swing  clear,  in 
case  of  a  change  of  wind,  find  a  smooth  sea? 
and  all  the  safety  of  a  more  confined  har- 
bour. 

The  small  island  of  Monjella,  as  it  is  called 
in  the  English  charts,  lies  from  four  to  five 
leagues  south-south-west  of  the  point  called 
Ras  Berdistan  by  the  natives,  and  the  nearest 
part  of  the  main  land  bears  from  it  east- 
north-east  about  a  league  and  a  half.  This 
island  is  called  Umm-el-Nakheela,  or  '  the 
mother  of  palm  trees ;'  from  ]  '  a  mother, 
the  root,  or  primary  cause ;'  and  Js^,  '  the 
palm  or  date  tree.' 

This  is  literally  the  same  as  the  Palmeira 
of  the  Portuguese  ;  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that,  in  giving  this  name  to  it,  they  meant  it 
to  be  a  translation  of  the  native  one,  which 
they  found  characteristic  of  the  spot  to  which 
it  was  affixed.  It  is  also  the  same  as  the  Om- 
en-chale  of  Niebuhr,  though  he  makes  it  a 
place  on  the  continent,  and  not  an  island. 
The  difference  in  sound  between  these  names 


26s  VOYAGE    IIIOM    BUSHIRE 

is  not  SO  great  as  in  their  orthography ;  but 
the  manner  of  writing  the  last,  proves  de- 
cidedly that  Mr.  Niebuhr  was  not  aware  of 
the  derivation  of  the  name ;  and  his  placing 
it  on  the  continent  is  equally  a  proof  that  his 
information  was  from  report ;  for,  if  he  had 
passed  near  to  it,  he  would  have  seen  an  island 
as  large  as  Shitwar,  covered  with  date  trees^ 
and  thus  explaining  the  etymology  of  its  name. 
There  is  said  to  be  no  fresh  water  on  the 
spot,  and  consequently  no  inhabitants ;  and 
this  island,  with  two  smaller  nameless  ones 
to  the  westward  of  it,  is  seated  amidst  shoals 
and  broken  ground  on  every  side.  There  is 
nevertheless  a  passage  for  native  coasting- 
boats  between  these  islands  and  the  Persian 
shore,  which  is  only  sailed  through  in  the 
day,  on  account  of  the  dangers  there ;  but  is 
constantly  frequented,  inasmuch  as  it  saves  a 
considerable  distance  to  those  going  up  or 
down  the  coast  along  shore,  in  cutting  off  the 
great  circuit  that  must  otherwise  be  made,  to 
go  clear  without  the  shoals  to  the  westward. 
This  last  piece  of  information  I  received  the 
most  positive  assurances  of,  and  indeed  it  was 
subsequently  confirmed  to  me  by  a  person 
who  had  sailed  through  it,  and  whose  des- 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  269 

cription  of  the  island  and  channel  agreed  ex- 
actly with  the  testimony  of  the  others.  Ne- 
archus,  therefore,  might  easily  have  taken  his 
fleet  through  this  passage,  as  none  of  his 
vessels  probably  drew  more  water  than  the 
common  coasting-boats  of  the  present  day. 

It  was  highly  satisfactory  to  ascertain  this 
fact,  as  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  to  render 
intelligible  in  the  relation  of  this  voyage  by 
Arrian,  lay  here  on  this  part  of  the  coast. 
The  distance  sailed  from  Gogana  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Sitakus  was  eight  hundred  stadia, 
or  about  fifty  miles,  and  the  run  was  not  made 
without  danger.  On  this  passage  Dr.  Vin- 
cent remarks,  that  the  coast  itself  measures 
that  distance,  without  allowing  for  the  circle 
that  must  be  taken  to  round  the  shoal  off 
Cape  Verdistan.  It  is  not  probable,  he  adds, 
that  an  English  vessel  should  ever  determine 
whether  there  is  a  passage  within  the  break- 
ers ;  but  within,  undoubtedly,  Nearchus  must 
have  sailed,  to  make  the  stadia  agree ;  and 
though  M'Cluer  makes  an  anchorage  almost 
in  the  centre  of  them,  a  passage  close  to  shore 
must  be  dubious,  unless  it  could  be  proved 
that  it  is  still  practicable  for  native  vessels. 
If  there  is  a  passage,  he  concludes,  the  mea- 


270  VOYAGE    FROM   BUSHIRE 

sure  of  Arrian  is  correct ;  if  there  is  no  pas- 
sage, it  is  the  first  on  this  coast  which  has 
been  deficient.^ 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  remove  the  difficulties 
and  reconcile  the  seeming  inconsistencies  of 
early  writers  in   any  way,  but  especially  so 
in    cases    where   it    serves    to    establish    the 
fidelity  of  an  ancient  and  curious  journal  like 
the  present,  relating  to  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting voyages  ever  performed,  considering 
the  time,  the  circumstances,  its  motive,  and 
its  end ;  and  thus  to  remove  the  charge  of 
falsehood  and  invention,  which  some  angry 
but  injudicious  critics  have  laid  to  the  whole 
history  of  it.     It  has  happened,   indeed,  in 
more  instances  than  the  present,  that  the  new 
lights  thrown  on  geography  and  history  by 
modern  discoveries,  have  tended  to  illustrate 
and  confirm    the  writings  of  the    ancients, 
more  particularly  of  those   who    treated   of 
countries  east  of  Greece  ;  as  every  one  who 
has  followed  Herodotus,  Strabo,  Arrian,  and 
the  author  of  the  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean 
Sea,  as  travelling  guides  over  the  countries 
and  shores  which  they  describe,  must  have 
had  abundant  opportunities  of  observing. 

*  Dissertations,  Persis,  p.  2S5. 


DOWN   THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  271 

A  passage  within  the  shoals  of  Berdistan 
does  then,  as  we  have  seen,  still  exist,  and 
is  frequented  at  the  present  day:  the  dis- 
tance given  by  Arrian  for  Nearchus's  run 
through  this  passage  is  correct ;  and  nothing 
can  be  more  satisfactory  proof  of  his  having 
gone  this  way,  than  the  details  which  he  gives 
of  the  run  throughout.  The  whole  naviga- 
tion along  this  part  of  the  coast  of  Persia  is, 
he  says,  among  shoals  and  breakers  ;  but,  he 
adds,  they  (the  Greeks  and  Macedonians) 
secured  themselves  in  their  present  station 
by  drawing  their  ships  on  shore,  in  order  to 
careen  and  refit  such  of  them  as  had  been 
injured  during  the  voyage.^ 

Nov.  22nd. — Light,  variable  airs,  and  agree- 
able weather,  but  unfavourable  to  our  pro- 
gress. The  ship's  place  at  noon  was  in  lat. 
26°  49'  north,  and  long.  51^  35'  east,  with 
Barn  Hill  north-north-east,  and  the  notch 
over  Astola  north-east  half-east,  in  thirty- 
eight  fathoms. 

The  evening  brought  us  fresh  breezes  from 
the  north-west,  to  which  we  crowded  all  sail? 
though  our  situation  required  much  caution 
in  the  course,  the  soundings,  and  the  look- 

*  Voyage,  Persis,  381. 


272  VOYAGE    FROM    BUSHIRE 

out.  We  here  passed  over  the  site  of  the 
Crescent,  which,  with  the  Scorpion,  forms  the 
two  banks,  called  the  Pearl-shoals  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's sloop  Scorpion,  1807,  as  laid  down  in 
Arrowsmith's  chart  of  1810,  and  noted  in 
Horsburgh's  Directory  of  1809,  in  the  body 
of  the  work,  as  discovered  by  the  ship  Pearl 
in  1796.  Each  of  these  shoals  appears  to 
occupy  a  considerable  space ;  and  they  are 
said  to  be  dry  in  several  parts,  though  they 
have  a  passage  between  them  of  twenty  to 
twenty-five  fathoms  depth.  Among  the  lon- 
gitudes of  the  squadron,  which  were  all  by 
chronometer,  our  own  was  the  westernmost 
by  a  few  miles,  and  fresh  departures  had  been 
taken  from  the  meridian  of  Bushire,  as  in 
long.  50®  44'  east ;  yet  these  shoals  were  evi- 
dently without  us,  or  to  the  westward  of  our 
reckoning,  and  therefore  probably  to  the 
southward  and  westward  of  the  position  as- 
signed to  them  in  the  books  and  charts. 

Nov.  23rd. — At  sun-rise  we  were  off  a  re- 
markable mountain  on  the  Persian  shore, 
which  forms  a  sea-mark  for  the  navigation 
of  the  Gulf,  under  the  name  of  Charrack  Hill. 
Beneath  it  is  a  small  port,  of  the  same  name, 
belonging  to  the  Joassamees^  and  affording 


i 


DOWN    THE    PERSIAN    GULF.  273 

shelter  to  their  piratical  boats.  This  town 
was  once  possessed  by  the  Danes ;  and  there 
is  still  a  race  of  their  descendants  there,  with 
light  hair  and  blue  eyes ;  but  in  all  their  ha- 
bits and  language  they  resemble  the  abori- 
gines of  the  country.  The  high  land  of  Char- 
rack  seems  to  be  the  Mount  Ochus  of  the 
ancients  ;  and  it  is  from  every  point  of  view  a 
remarkably  conspicuous  object.  Opposite  to 
this  point  of  Charrack  is  the  small  island  of 
Kenn,  or  Kym  of  Horsburgh,  about  ten  miles 
from  the  shore.  It  is  low,  and  more  thickly 
wooded  than  any  of  the  islands  in  the  Gulf, 
and  is  fruitful  and  well  inhabited.^  Sup- 
plies of  provisions  and  water  may  be  obtain- 
ed here,  as  well  as  shelter  found  under  its  lee 
from  the  north-west  gales,  in  a  good  anchor- 
age of  nine  fathoms,  abreast  the  village,  at  its 
eastern  end.     As  this  island  is  low,  it  is  not 

*  Ammianus  Marcellinus  says,  that  the  southern  part  of  Per- 
sia, bordering  on  the  Gulf,  abounds  in  palm-trees,  in  fruits,  and 
in  streams,  which  render  it  agreeable.  He  observes  also,  that 
there  are  many  considerable  cities  in  the  interior,  or  higher 
regions  of  the  country,  and  that  no  towns  of  note  existed  on 
the  sea-coast.  The  reason  of  this  was  not  understood  by  him  ; 
but  it  was  undoubtedly  because  the  climate  of  the  coast  was 
less  agreeable  than  that  of  the  elevated  parts  of  the  interior,  and 
because  they  had  no  maritime  wars  or  maritime  commerce  to 
render  sea- ports  necessary. — Lib.  xxiii.  c.  6. 

VOL.    II.  T 


274  HAS    NABEND. 

to  be  distinguished  more  than  four  leagues 
off;  but  Charrack  Hill,  on  a  bearing  of  north- 
north-east,  is  a  good  mark  for  running  right 
upon  it.  When  this  hill  at  sun-rise  bore 
east  by  north  half-north,  we  had  the  notch 
over  Astola,  bearing  north  by  west,  and  were 
then  in  forty  fathoms  water. 

At  noon  the  ship's  place  was  in  lat.  26°  19' 
north,  and  long.  26^  55^  east,  the  weather 
dark  and  cloudy,  Charrack  Hill  north-east  by 
east  half-east,  and  soundings  forty  fathoms. 
In  the  afternoon  we  had  a  light  breeze  from 
the  north-west,  which  fell  off  at  sun-set,  and 
the  atmosphere  was  then  so  heavy  that  no 
land  could  be  seen.  Our  water  deepened  to 
forty-five  fathoms  at  midnight. 

Ras  Nabend,  which  is  nearly  opposite  to 
this,  is  conceived  to  be  the  place  of  the  river 
Bagrada,  of  Ptolemy,  which  he  makes  the 
boundary  of  Karmania,  differing  in  this  from 
Arrian,  whose  limit,  as  we  have  seen,  was  op- 
posite to  Kaeese,  and  formed  by  the  range  of 
hills  ending  at  the  sea,  in  the  mountain  of 
Charrack.  The  name  of  the  river  Bagrada, 
in  Africa,  is  derived  by  Bochart  from  Knonn 
Barkatha,  a  pond,  in  the  Hebrew  ;^  and  Dr. 

*  Shaw's  Travels  in  Barbary,  p.  77. 


HAS    NABEND.  275 

Vincent  says,  that  the  characteristics  of  the 
Nabend  in  Persia,  would  suit  such  a  deriva- 
tion very  well.     I  could  learn  no  other  fea- 
tures of  this  stream  than  that  it  was  large, 
deep,  and  capacious ;  nor  were  our  informers 
able  to  say  whether   it  had  any   name   re- 
sembling the  supposed  ancient  one,  either  in 
sound  or  in  signification.     The  word  ^  Bur- 
kah,  which  is  evidently  allied  to  the  Hebrew 
Barkatha,  signifies  the  same  thing  both  in 
Persian  and  Arabic,  though  it  belongs  ori- 
ginally to  the  latter.     Dr.  Vincent  did  not 
seem  aware  of  this ;  for,  in  a  note  on  a  place 
called  by  Colonel  Capper,  Birket  Rahamah, 
he  asks,  '  What  is  Birket  ?     Birk,  is  a  well :' 
and  adds,  '  If  the  traveller  had  given  us  this, 
we  might  have  judged  whether  it  is  yet  a 
lake  or   dry.'     He  then  proposes  a  query, 
'  Whether  it  is  not  an  error  of  the  press  for 
Bahr-el-Rahma,  the  sea  of  Bahama,  or  Birk- 
el-Rahama,  like  Birk-el-Hadji,  in  Egypt,  the 
lake    of  the    Pilgrims,  i.  e.    where  they  as- 
semble for  the  pilgrimage.'*    The  fact  is,  that 
Bir,  and  not  Birk,  is   the  common  Arabic 
name  for  a  well;  and  Birket,  the  usual  term 
for  a  lake,  as  in  the  Birket-el-Hadj,  or  the 

♦  Sequel  to  the  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  p.  513. 
T  2 


276  PORT    OF    SIRAFF. 

Lake  of  the  Pilgrimage  ;  for  that  is  precisely 
the  way  in  which  it  is  pronounced  in  Egypt, 
where  this  lake  is  situated,  and  where  it  de- 
rives its  name  from  the  Hadj,  or  assemblage 
of  pilgrims,  who  depart  yearly  from  this  spot 
for  Mecca,  halting  here  to  fill  their  water, 
and  to  wait  for  the  Emir-el-Hadj,  or  Prince 
of  the  Pilgrimage,  who  generally  leaves  Cairo 
the  day  before  they  set  out. 

Nov  24. — At  sun-rise,  the  weather  being 
clearer,  and  the  wind  moderate,  with  a  land 
breeze  from  the  north-east,  we  saw  Charrack 
Hill  again,  bearing  north  by  east  half-east, 
and  were  then  in  forty-two  fathoms  water. 

I  sought  and  enquired  in  vain  after  the 
SirafF,  which  is  thought  to  have  been  seated 
at  the  foot  of  Charrack,  and  opposite  to 
Kaeese  ;  and  which  is  noticed  by  Edrisi  as  a 
seat  of  commerce  in  his  time,  and  connected 
with  Kaeese,  as  Gomberoon  was  afterwards 
with  Ormuz.  Dr.  Vincent  proves,  from  the 
relation  of  a  voyage  of  two  Arabians,  that  in 
the  ninth  century  Siraff  was  a  port  of  im- 
portance ;  for  it  seems  in  that  early  age  to 
have  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Arabians, 
and  the  centre  of  an  Oriental  commerce, 
which  perhaps  extended  to  China.     He  adds. 


PORT    OF    SIRAFF.  277 

that  both  SirafF,  which  was  conquered   by 
Shah  Kodbadin,  king  of  Ormuz,  about  the 
year  1320;  and  Siraff,  whose  decline  is  men- 
tioned by  Alfragani,  in  his  time,  yielded  its 
consequence   to  Ormuz,  which  was  a  cele- 
brated mart  long  before  the  Portuguese  were 
masters  of  that  island  ;  and  he  inclines  to 
think,  though  SirafF  is  said  by  D'Anville  to 
be  now  in  ruins,  that  both  the  name  and  the 
site  are  to  be  identified  with  the  Charrack  of 
the  coast.     As  SirafF  was  said  to  have  been 
opposite  to  Kaeese,  there  was  a  difficulty  in 
reconciling  it  to  the  position  of  Charrack,  as 
given  by  M'Cluer,  since  this  was  to  the  east- 
ward of  his  Cape  Bestion,  and  rather  oppo- 
site to  Polior,  or  Froor.     Dr.  Vincent  was 
right  in  suspecting  this  arrangement,  and  in 
caUing  in  question  the  accuracy  of  M'Cluer, 
with  regard  to  names  ;  though  he  modestly 
expresses  himself  as  not  qualified  to  decide. 
The  town  of  Charrack  is,  as  he  conceived  it 
ought  to  be,  to  the  westward  of  this  Cape, 
and  close  to  the  eastern  foot  of  the  hill  from 
which  it  derives,  or  to  which  it  gives  its  name. 
This,  it  is  true,  is  still  to  the  eastward  of 
Kaeese,  but  not  so  far  as  to  prevent  its  being 
called,  in  a  general  way,  '  opposite  to   the 


278  KAEESE    AND    HIKDERABIA. 

island.'  The  town  of  Tawoone  is  nearest  to 
the  island  on  the  east,  and  Kallat-el-Abeed, 
so  called  from  an  old  castle  in  the  mountains 
above,  in  which  some  rebel  slaves  defended 
themselves,  is  the  nearest  to  it  on  the  west. 
Between  this  and  Cheroo  another  town  was 
named  to  us,  called  Goorezy ;  but  this  we  did 
not  clearly  perceive.  Among  them  all,  how- 
ever, a  position  might  be  selected  for  Siraff, 
which  would  accord  accurately  enough  with 
its  vicinity  to  Kaeese,  if  other  circumstances 
indicated  either  its  name  or  its  remains 
there. 

Heather,  on  the  authority  of  MCluer, 
places  the  islands  of  Kaeese  and  Hinde- 
rabia,  at  about  fifteen  miles  distant  from  each 
other;  but  it  appears  that  this  navigator  sub- 
sequently stated  to  Mr.  Dalrymple,  that  he 
had  altered  the  situation  of  Hinderabia,  as 
he  found  it  too  near  to  Kenn  ;  and  actually 
extends  the  distance  from  twelve  to  twenty 
geographical  miles,  without  stating  what  after- 
discovery  had  led  to  this  correction.  The 
illustrator  of  Nearchus's  voyages  very  natu- 
rally congratulates  himself  on  this  alteration, 
since  it  corresponds  more  accurately  with  the 
twenty-five  miles  assigned  to  the  distance  be- 


KAEESE    AND    HINDERABIA.  279 

tween  them  by  Arrian ;  and  expresses  great 
satisfaction  in  finding  that  the  more  correct 
the  modern  chart  is,  the  better  it  corresponds 
with  the  details  of  his  author.  The  alter- 
native which  D'Anville  has  chosen,  however, 
of  making  the  anchorage  of  the  fleet  at  the 
eastern  end  of  Kataia,  so  as  to  include  the 
length  of  that  island  in  the  four  hundred 
stadia  of  the  run  from  Kataia  to  Ila,  still 
remains  :  and  if  it  be  allowable  to  choose  the 
most  convenient  end  of  one  island  for  the 
point  of  departure;  so  it  may  equally  be  per- 
mitted to  make  the  point  of  arrival  at  either 
extreme  of  the  other,  so  as  to  include  its 
length  too,  if  necessary ;  more  particularly 
as  Ila,  the  harbour  mentioned,  is  only  said  to 
be  sheltered  by  an  island  in  the  offing,  called 
Kaika,  without  saying  from  what  winds,  or 
in  what  direction  ;  so  that  if  the  distance 
were  the  only  point  to  be  adjusted,  twenty 
out  of  the  twenty-five  miles  might  be  unob- 
jectionably  made  out,  even  at  present. 

The  island  of  Hinderabia  resembles  that 
of  Kaika  in  its  general  character,  being  low, 
level,  and  sandy  at  the  base;  but  not  so  well 
wooded,  although  it  has  some  single  trees  and 
shrubs,  and,  it  is  said,  good  water. 


280  CAPE    OF    KHASSENI. 

As  the  day  advanced,  the  wind  drew 
more  easterly ;  and  at  noon,  being  in  lati- 
tude 25°  49'  north,  and  longitude  53°  53' 
east,  Charrack  Hill  bearing  north  half-east, 
distant  at  least  sixty  miles,  we  saw  the  Ara- 
bian shore,  bearing  south-south-east,  rather 
low,  and  distant  about  twenty  miles  from  us, 
our  soundings  being  then  in  forty  fathoms. 

Neither  the  names  of  Cape  Bestion,  nor 
Certes,  under  any  of  their  variations  of  sound, 
are  at  all  known  to  the  natives  of  this  coast. 
The  eastern  cape  they  call  Ras-el-Shenaz, 
and  the  western  cape,  Ras-el-Hhasseeni,  both 
from  towns  of  that  name  near  their  respective 
extremes.  In  the  bay  between  them  are  the 
towns  of  Boostana  and  Mogho ;  the  first 
nearest  to  Ras-el-Shenaz,  and  the  second 
nearest  to  Ras-el-Hhasseeni,  and  about  equi- 
distant from  these  capes,  and  from  each 
other.  To  the  eastward  of  Ras-el-Hhasseeni, 
are  the  towns  of  Charrack  and  Tawoone, 
which  are  described  as  similar  to  Shenaz, 
Linga,  and  Cheroo. 

This  cape  of  Hhasseeni  corresponds  very 
accurately  in  point  of  distance  from  Shenaz, 
to  the  Cape  Tarsia  of  Arrian,  at  which  Ne- 
archus  anchored,  after  a  run  of  three  hun- 


ISLAND    OF    KAEESE.  281 

dred  stadia,  or  about  nineteen  miles  from 
Sididone,  and  before  another  run  of  the  same 
distance  to  Kataia,  or  Kaeese.  Dr.  Vincent 
thought  he  could  perceive  this  Tarsia  of  the 
Greeks  in  Niebuhr's  modern  name  of  Dsjerd, 
and  refers  the  classical  reader  to  the  fluc- 
tuations in  the  orthography  of  the  name 
Tyrus,  to  satisfy  him  of  its  possibility.  "  The 
Phoenician  word,"  he  says,  "  is  Tsor,  with  the 
two  initials  T  S.  correspondent  to  Niebuhr's 
D  S  J ;  and  Tsor  becomes  by  the  T.  Tv^-og 
Tyrus  ;  by  the  S.  Sor,  or  Sar — the  root  of 
Sour,  Souria,  ^v^lci,  Syria,  and  found  in  Virgil, 
'  Sarrano  indormiat  ostro ;'  where  the  Scholia 
write, '  a  Saro  murice.'  By  the  same  analogy, 
Tserd,  Tarsia,  Serd,  Sertes, — Certes,  Gherd, 
Sjerd."^  After  this,  no  one  would  surely 
despair  of  finding  Tarseea,  or  Tarsia,  in  the 
present  name  Hhasseeni,  which,  from  not 
being  known  before  to  be  the  real  name  of 
the  cape,  has  had  no  learning  or  etymolo- 
gical skill  exercised  on  it  to  see  what  it 
might  produce. 

The  island  of  Kaeese,  abreast  of  which  we 
now  were,  is  apparently  of  less  dimensions 
than  those  usually  given  to  it.      Thevenot 

*  Note  to  the  Dissertation,  vol.  i.  p.  362. 


282  ISLAND    OF    KAEESE. 

mentions  it  as  about  five  leagues  in  circuit ; 
and  Horsburgh,  from  M'Cluer,  states  it  to  be 
as  large  as  Polior  :  neither  of  which  is  cor- 
rect.    The  extreme  length  of  it  appeared  to 
us  to  be  about   four  miles,  and  its  general 
breadth  about  two,  while    Polior  is  at   least 
double  that  size.     Arrian,  who,  from  Near- 
chus,  describes  it  as  a  low  desert  island,  gave 
its    character    much    more    faithfully   than 
M'Cluer,  who   calls  it  a  very  beautiful  one, 
and  better  planted  with  trees  than  any  other 
in  the  Gulf.     The  expression  of '  desert,'  as 
used   by  Arrian,  did   not   imply  then,  any 
more  than  it  does  now,  a  place  totally  inca- 
pable of  producing  any  thing,  but  rather  one 
destitute    of  verdure   and  natural   fertility, 
though  capable  of  supporting  life,  as  the  de- 
serts of  the  Arabs  do  to  tribes  of  thousands, 
with  their  still  more  numerous  flocks,  and 
of  being  made  more  productive  by  artificial 
means  of  cultivation.     It  is  thus  that,  though 
Nearchus  found  it  uninhabited,   it  was,  he 
says,  frequented  by  visitors  from  the  conti- 
nent, who  annually  brought  goats  here,  and, 
consecrating  them  to  Venus   and  Mercury, 
left  them  to  run  wild.     The  learned   illus- 
trator  of  this   interesting  voyage  has   very 


ISLAND    OF    KAEESE.  283 

happily  observed  on  this,  that  though  the 
deities  of  the  Persian  or  Arabian  mythology 
here  alluded  to  by  these  Greek  names,  are 
not  easy  to  be  discovered,  yet  that  the  prac- 
tice indicated  the  navigation  of  the  Gulf  in 
that  age  ;  and  that  if  the  gods  were  to  pro- 
tect the  breed  for  a  time,  we  might  suppose 
it  was  ultimately  intended  for  the  use  of 
man,  upon  the  same  principle  that  Juan  Fer- 
nandez was  stocked  by  the  Spaniards  in  the 
South  Seas.  Nearchus,  he  continues,  has  not 
informed  us  whether  he  violated  the  asylum 
of  these  animals ;  but  this  appears  the  na- 
tural inducement  for  his  leaving  the  coast  to 
make  this  island,  as  he  had  obtained  no 
supply  either  at  Tumbo  or  Sididone;  and 
we  do  not  read  that  the  sacrilege,  if  com- 
mitted, was  revenged  by  Mercury  or  Venus 
in  so  severe  a  manner  as  the  companions  of 
Ulysses  were  punished  for  feasting  on  the 
oxen  of  Apollo.* 

If  the  size,  the  fertility,  and  the  beauty  of 
Kaeese,  have  been  all  exaggerated  by  the 
moderns,  so  has  its  distance  from  the  con- 
tinent been  made  too  great.  The  charts 
and   directories  make  the  channel  to  be  four 

*  Dissertation,  vol.  i.  p.  364. 


284  ISLAND    OF    KAEESE. 

leagues  wide  ;  and  this  is  said  in  the  same 
page  to  be  the  greatest  distance  at  which 
it  can  be  seen,  from  its  being  so  low.  It  was 
necessary  to  assign  a  motive  for  Nearchus 
quitting  the  coast  to  go  in  search  of  it,  and 
natural  to  find  it  in  the  one  supposed,  of 
seeking  a  supply  from  the  consecrated  herds 
and  flocks  of  Aphrodisias,  as  Pliny  calls  this 
island  from  this  circumstance  of  its  devotions. 
But  the  channel  hardly  appeared  to  us  to  be 
as  many  miles  as  it  is  made  leagues  across, 
and  certainly  could  not  be  passed  without 
its  very  beach  being  distinctly  seen  from 
within.  The  main  land  here  on  the  north 
is  a  lofty  and  abrupt  mountain  of  greyish 
stone,  whose  surface  is  seemingly  every  where 
destitute  of  vegetation,  and  whose  steep  sides 
rise  so  suddenly  from  the  sea,  as  to  offer  no 
temptation  to  approach  them  either  for  an- 
chorage or  refreshment.  Nothing  would  be 
more  natural,  therefore,  than  for  the  Mace- 
donian fleet  to  cross  this  narrow  channel, 
which,  supposing  they  sailed  at  a  distance 
of  only  two  miles  from  the  continent,  would 
not  be  a  league  over;  and  the  appearance 
of  trees  and  vegetation  there,  would  promise 
them  better  supplies  of  food  and  water  than 


THE    KARMAKIANS.  285 

they  could   hope  to  obtain  from  the  main 
coast. 

This  lofty  and  barren  mountain  is  the 
Charrack  of  the  charts,  and  is  the  sea-mark 
for  approaching  Kaeese  ;  for,  when  this  bears 
north-north-east,  it  has  the  island  in  one 
with  it,  which  cannot  then  be  distinguished 
from  the  main.  The  island  is  at  present 
inhabited  by  about  fifty  families,  and  pro- 
duces sufficient  sustenance  for  them  only  ; 
though  ships  may  obtain  good  water  there, 
according  to  the  account  of  our  visitors.  Its 
modern  name  of  Kaeese  sufficiently  corre- 
sponds with  the  ancient  one  of  Kataia,  and  its 
position  and  local  features  can  leave  no  doubt 
of  their  identity. 

'  At  Kataia,'  says  Arrian,  '  ends  the  pro- 
vince of  Karmania,  along  the  coast  of  which 
they  had  sailed  three  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred stadia. — The  Karmanians,'  he  adds,  '  re- 
semble the  Persians  in  their  manner  of  living, 
their  armour  and  military  array  are  the  same, 
and,  as  adjoining  provinces,  the  customs  and 
habits  of  both  assimilate.'*  The  opinion  of 
Dr.  Vincent,  that  this  boundary  line  is  not 
an  imaginary  one,  but  to  be  sought  for  in 

*  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  p.  38. 


286  THE    KARMANIANS. 

the  Hill  of  Charrack,  is  reasonable,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  appearance  of  this  being,  as  he 
conjectured,  the  termination  of  a  range,  run- 
ning inland,  and  forming  a  natural  boundary. 
The  fact  related  by  Arrian  of  the  Karmanians 
resembling  the  Persians  in  their  manner  of 
living,  is  as  true  at  the  present  period  as  then. 
The  physiognomy  of  most  of  these  that  I  had 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  on  other  occa- 
sions, was  perfectly  Arab  ;  and  the  Arabic 
language  was  as  familiar  to  them  as  the  Per- 
sian ;  but  every  thing  else,  in  their  dress, 
their  manners,  and  their  character,  was  more 
nearly  allied  to  Persian  habits,  and  seemed  to 
point  out  an  Arabic  origin. 

At  sun-set,  having  gone  fifteen  miles  on  a 
true  course  of  south-east,  the  Persian  coast 
still  in  sight,  Charrack  Hill  bearing  north  by 
west,  an  island  was  seen  from  the  mast-head, 
near  the  Arabian  shore,  bearing  south  by 
west,  and  our  soundings  in  thirty-five  fa- 
thoms. This  was  probably  the  island  of 
Zara,  mentioned  as  being  near  the  port  of 
Seer,  about  this  part  of  the  coast ;  but  of 
which  no  particulars  are  accurately  known. 
It  is  said,  however,  to  be  opposite  to  an  angle 
or  elbow  of  the  land,  from  whence  the  coast 


GEZIRET    BETHOOBEE.  28T 

trends  away  more  southerly  than  it  is  mark- 
ed in  the  latest  charts. 

The  bay  from  hence  to  the  westward  is 
reported  to  extend  at  least  a  degree  deeper 
in  a  southern  direction  than  it  is  delineated 
by  the  best  authorities,  and  to  contain  a  great 
number  of  islands  generally  unknown  to  Eu- 
ropean navigators.  In  a  recent  voyage  along 
the  Arabian  coast,  on  this  side  of  the  Gulf, 
made  by  the  Honourable  Captain  Maude,  in 
his  Majesty's  ship  Favourite,  eight  of  these 
islands  were  seen,  and  their  positions  tolera- 
bly well  ascertained  ;  but  a  still  greater  num- 
ber remain  yet  unknown,  as  the  whole  of  the 
Arabian  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf  has  been 
but  imperfectly  explored. 

The  westernmost  of  all  the  islands  in  this 
bay  is  called  Geziret  Bethoobee,  from  a  town 
of  that  name,  abreast  of  which  it  lies.  The 
town  itself  has  a  port,  and  is  a  place  of  some 
trade,  being  in  friendship  with  the  Imaum  of 
Muscat,  and  receiving  vessels  and  supplies 
both  of  merchandize  and  provisions  from  that 
mart.  This  island  is  placed  by  the  latest  au- 
thorities in  lat.  25^  20'  north,  and  long.  53° 
40'  east,  and  is  in  size  nearly  equal  to  Polior, 
extending  about  ten  miles  in  length  from  east 


288 

to  west,  and  being  about  half  that  breadth 
from  north  to  south.  The  town  of  Bethoobee 
is  placed  in  lat.  S4''  35'  north,  and  long.  53" 
50'  east,  and  lies  on  a  low  and  desert  coast. 
There  is  a  wide  and  clear  passage  between 
the  island  and  the  main,  in  which  the  sound- 
ings decrease  from  twenty  fathoms  near  the 
former,  to  five  near  the  latter.  This  island 
may,  after  all,  be  the  same  with  the  Zara  and 
the  Seer  of  the  charts,  as  nothing  is  more 
easy  than  the  corruption  of  Gezireh,  the 
Arabic  name  of  an  island  generally,  into 
either  of  these  forms. 

The  first  or  northernmost  of  the  group, 
discovered  in  his  Majesty's  ship  Favourite? 
and  called,  after  her  commander,  Maude's 
Islands,  is  the  island  of  Halool ;  after  which 
follow  to  the  southward  Sheraroo,  Daoos, 
Jumaeen,  Danee,  Arzeneeah,  Delamee,  and 
Geziret  Beni  Aass,  making  eight  in  number. 
Of  these  their  discoverer  gives  the  following 
account : — 

Halool  is  in  lat.  25«  41^  north,  and  long. 
52'  23'  east.  It  is  high  in  the  centre,  de- 
creasing towards  each  extremity  ;  and,  having 
a  bold  shore  and  deep  water,  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  fathoms  all  around,  may  be  approached 


Maude's  islands.  289 

with  perfect  safety.  From  a  correspondence 
of  latitude,  this  has  been  supposed  to  be  the 
island  of  May,  so  called  in  the  English  charts, 
and  placed  about  a  degree  further  to  the 
eastward,  or  nearly  in  the  longitude  of  Ge- 
ziret  Bethoobee  ;  but  this  is  not  certain,     - 

Sheraroo  is  in  lat.  25^  13'  north,  and  long. 
52^  18^  east.  It  is  from  three  to  four  miles 
in  length  from  south-east  to  north-west,  and 
not  more  than  half  that  breadth,  having  two 
small  hummocks  on  each  extremity.  About 
half  a  mile  from  the  northernmost  point  is  a 
small  rock  above  water.  To  the  north-west 
of  this  island,  the  Arabian  coast  may  be  ap- 
proached ;  but  as  it  is  all  low  land  in  that 
direction,  it  should  be  done  with  caution. 

Daoos  is  in  lat.  25«  10'  north,  and  long. 
52^  45'  east.  It  is  six  or  seven  miles  in  length 
from  east  to  west,  and  about  four  in  breadth. 
It  is  moderately  high  and  rugged,  with  a 
low  point  extending  to  the  north-west ;  and 
the  soundings  in  passing  it  were  on  broken 
ground,  and  irregular. 

Jumaeen  is  in  lat.  25®  6^  north,  and  long. 
52°  55^  east.  It  has  three  high  hummocks, 
of  an  equal  elevation,  two  on  the  north  part, 
and  one  to  the  southward ;  but,  on  passing 

VOL.    II.  u 


290  Maude's  islands. 

it,  the  haze  prevented  the  extremities  being 
seen. 

Danee  is  a  small  and  exceedingly  low 
island,  in  lat.  25«  1'  north,  and  long.  52'^  20' 
east ;  the  colour  of  which,  in  hazy  weather, 
approaches  so  nearly  to  that  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, that  it  is  difficult  to  be  distinguished 
on  the  horizon,  and  therefore  should  be  ap- 
proached cautiously.  The  passage  between 
this  island  and  Sheraroo  is  clear  of  shoals,  that 
would  be  dangerous  to  small  ships ;  though 
there  are  sudden  overfalls,  on  a  coral  bottom, 
from  six  to  three  fathoms  and  a  half. 

Arzeneeah  is  in  lat.  ^4^  5&  north,  and  long. 
52^  38'  east.  It  is  in  length  about  seven  miles 
from  east-north-east  to  west-south-west,  and 
in  breadth  about  a  league.  It  is  rather  high 
and  uneven,  and  the  south  side  is  particu- 
larly rugged.  His  Majesty's  ship  Favourite 
anchored  off  this  island  in  twelve  and  a  half 
fathoms,  on  a  coral  and  sandy  bottom  ;  the 
centre  of  the  island  bearing  south  by  east 
half-east,  and  the  ship  off  shore  from  five  to 
six  miles.  There  are  no  trees  on  the  island, 
and  but  little  other  vegetation  ;  and  the  soil 
was  found,  on  examination,  to  consist  chiefly 
of  metallic  ore.     About  a  cable's  length  from 


MAUDE'S    ISLANDS.  291 

the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  and  in 
that  direction,  is  a  rock  above  water,  and  a 
similar  one  also  off  the  opposite,  or  western 
extreme ;  while  from  the  north-east  end  a 
shoal  extends  for  nearly  a  mile  from  the  shore, 
composed  of  coral  rocks  and  sand ;  and  the 
south-west  termination  is  a  low  and  barren 
point. 

Delamee  is  in  lat.  24®  36^  north,  and  long 
52^  9>4t  east.  Its  length  from  north  to  south 
is  about  six  miles,  and  its  breadth  less  than 
half  that,  from  east  to  west.  It  is  of  a  mode- 
rate height,  and  of  a  darker  colour  than  Ar- 
zeneeah.  On  its  northern  end,  is  a  round 
hill,  the  extremity  of  which  terminates  in  a 
low  sand ;  and  towards  the  southern  point 
there  are  three  small  hummocks,  which  slope 
off  in  a  similar  way.  Off  the  northern  end 
of  the  island,  a  shoal  extends  for  nearly  two 
miles  in  that  direction,  which  ought  not  to 
be  approached  under  seven  fathoms ;  and 
the  passage  to  the  southward  of  the  island, 
or  between  it  and  the  Arabian  shore,  is 
considered  as  altogether  unsafe.  The  chan- 
nel between  Delamee  and  Arzeneeah  is,  how- 
ever, clear  of  shoals ;  though  there  are  in  it 
irregular  soundings  and  overfalls,  from  twen- 

u  2 


292  MAtJDrJs   ISLANDS. 

ty-one  to  fifteen,  and  from  twelve  to  seven 
fathoms. 

Geziret  Beni  Aass  is  in  lat.  24^  34'  north, 
and  long.  52**  40'  east.  It  is  rather  high  in 
the  centre,  very  rugged,  and  extending  to 
the  south-v/est  in  a  low  point,  which  nearly 
joins  the  main  land,  leaving  a  narrow  chan- 
nel, navigable  by  small  boats  only.  The  Ara- 
bian coast,  to  the  westward  of  this,  is  very 
low,  and  the  pilot  stated  that  there  were 
several  small  islands  off  it,  but  he  consider- 
ed them  dangerous  to  be  approached,  except 
by  boats.  The  channel  between  Arzeneeah 
and  Geziret  Beni  Aass  is  perfectly  safe. 

All  the  islands  here  described  have  the 
same  arid  and  barren  appearance  as  Polior 
and  Nobfleur,  the  Tombs,  and  other  islands 
on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
The  water  found  on  them  is  said  to  be  brack- 
ish ;  but  Captain  Maude,  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  soil,  and  from  what  he  witnessed 
on  the  island  of  Arzeneeah,  was  inclined  to 
suppose  that  good  water  might  be  procured. 
Safe  anchorage  may  be  obtained  under  any 
of  them  during  the  prevailing  north-west 
winds  of  this  sea,  as  a  shelter  from  which  they 
are  conveniently  situated.     The  currents,  or 


I 


Maude's  islands.  293 

tides,  set  through  these  islands  from  east- 
south-east  to  west-north-west;  but  neither 
their  rate,  nor  the  time  of  high-water,  were 
ascertained.  The  magnetic  variation,  from 
a  niean  of  several  sights,  was  about  4®  30' 
west. 

These  islands  are  placed  in  the  centre  of 
an  extensive  pearl  bank,  which  extends  nearly 
two  hundred  miles  in  a  longitudinal  direc- 
tion, and  about  seventy  miles  from  north  to 
south,  and  from  this  bank  a  great  quantity  of 
pearls  are  annually  collected.  The  positions 
of  these  islands,  as  here  laid  down,  were  not 
considered  by  Captain  Maude  to  be  exactly 
accurate;  the  heat  of  the  climate  having  con- 
siderably affected  the  rate  of  his  chronome- 
ters, and  the  haze  over  the  land  being  often 
so  great  as  to  prevent  his  estimating  cor- 
rectly the  distance  from  the  shore  when  the 
bearings  were  taken :  but  it  is  nevertheless 
believed  that  their  assigned  positions  are 
sufficiently  accurate  to  fender  this  account 
of  them  of  some  use  to  those  navigators  to 
whom  the  southern  side  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
is  unknown. 

From   the  bottom  of  the   bay  in  which 
Maude's  Islands    are  situated,  the  Arabian 


, 


294i  ISLAND    OF    BAHREIN. 

coast  extends  for  nearly  two  degrees  in  a 
north- north-west  direction,  till  it  reaches  the 
point  of  Ras  Rekkan,  or  Ras-el-Sharek  of  the 
Arabs,  where  it  takes  a  bend  round  to  the 
south-west,  and  forms  the  Bay  of  Bahrein. 
This  Cape  of  Rekkan  is  in  lat.  26""  12'  north, 
and  long.  5P  13'  east,  having  the  town  and 
Fort  of  Zubarra  about  a  mile  or  two  to  the 
south-east  of  it ;  and  to  the  west-south-west 
of  it,  at  intervals  of  a  few  miles  distant,  are 
the  towns  of  Yamale,  AguUa,  Khore  Hassan, 
and  Fereyha,  with  the  creek  and  port  of  Lag- 
here,  at  twelve  hours'  sail  beyond  the  Cape, 
to  the  westward.  The  coast  from  the  Cape 
westward  forms  a  concave  semicircle,  extend- 
ing a  few  miles  deeper  than  the  line  of  26^ 
north  lat.  and  ending  at  El  Kateef,  the  east- 
ern point  to  the  entrance  of  which  is  in 
about  lat.  26«  28'  north,  and  long.  50«  5' 
east. 

The  islands  of  Bahrein,  which  are  seated 
in  this  bay,  are  two  in  number  ;  as  the  name, 
being  a  dual  in  Arabic,  implies.  The  largest 
of  these  bears  this  name  particularly,  and 
the  smaller  retains  that  of  Arad ;  an  appel- 
lation of  very  early  date,  when  these  islands 


ISLAND    OF    BAHREIN.  295 

bore  the  names  of  Tylos  and  Arad,  in  allusion 
to  the  Tyrus  and  Aradus  of  the  Phoenicians, 
on  the  coast  of  Syria.  The  principal  island 
has  its  centre  in  lat.  26^  13'  north,  and  long. 
50^  S5\  east.  Its  length  is  about  ten  miles, 
in  a  direction  of  west-north-west  and  east- 
south-east,  and  its  breadth  about  half  that,  in 
another  direction,  across.  The  general  ap- 
pearance of  the  island  is  low ;  but  it  is  every 
where  fertile,  well-watered,  and  supporting  an 
extensive  population.  There  are  estimated 
to  be  no  less  than  three  hundred  villages 
scattered  over  this  small  island,  and  every 
portion  of  the  soil  is  cultivated ;  producing 
dates,  figs,  citrons,  peaches,  and  a  species  of 
almond,  called  loazi,  the  outer  husk  of  which 
is  eaten  as  well  as  the  kernel.  The  principal 
town,  which  is  called  Minawah,  or  Minawee 
— properly,  the  scala,  or  port,  like  other  places 
of  the  same  description  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Arabs,  from  mina,  a  port — is  large  and  popu- 
lous, and  has  a  good  bazaar,  with  twelve  cara- 
vanseras  for  strangers.  Many  wealthy  mer- 
chants reside  here,  and  an  extensive  com- 
merce is  carried  on  in  the  exportation  of 
pearls  to  India,  and  the  importation  of  the 


296  ISLAND    OF    ARAB. 

manufactures  and  productions  of  that  country/ 
for  the  supply  of  all  the  eastern  coast  of  Ara- 
bia, and  the  interior  of  that  peninsula. 

The  island  of  Arad  is  of  nearly  the  same 
length  as  the  principal  one  of  Bahrein,  but  is 
exceedingly  narrow,  particularly  towards  the 
centre,  where  it  is  hardly  half  a  mile  across^ 
and  at  its  widest  parts,  which  are  nearest  each 
extremity  of  its  length,  it  is  not  more  than 
two  miles  over.  The  direction  of  its  length 
is  nearly  north  and  south,  and  its  centre  is 
in  lat.  26«  15'  north,  and  long.  50«  40'  east, 
making  these  islands  to  bear  about  south 
half-west  from  Bushire,  distant  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  miles.  On  the  northernmost 
point  of  Arad  is  a  small  town  among  date- 
trees,  called  Semahee ;  and  in  the  centre  or 
narrowest  part  of  the  island,  another  village  ; 
but  the  principal  town,  which  is  called  Ma- 
harad,  or  Maharag,  is  seated  on  the  southern 
extreme,  and  is  nearly  as  large  as  Minawah, 
being  defended  with  two  forts,  with  bastions, 
one  at  each  end  of  the  town,  and  a  wall  sur- 
rounding the  whole.  From  this  last  end, 
over  to  the  larger  island  of  Bahrein,  which, 
lying  nearly  east  and  west,  stands  almost  at 
right  angles  with  the  former,  there  is  a  ferry 


ANCHORAGE  NEAR  BAHREIN.      297 

by  boats,  which  are  constantly  going  night 
and  day.  The  strait  of  separation  between 
the  islands  is,  at  least,  six  miles  in  breadth ; 
but  being  full  of  shoals,  it  does  not  admit 
the  passage  of  ships  through  it. 

The  harbour  is  thus  formed  by  these  two 
islands  ;  one  lying  north  and  south,  and  the 
other  east  and  west ;  and  good  shelter  is 
afforded  by  them  from  all  but  north-west 
winds.  Though  the  approach  to  the  harbour 
is  rendered  difficult  by  the  foul  ground  and 
shoals,  yet,  these  being  of  coral,  the  water  is 
so  finely  transparent  as  to  admit  of  their 
being  seen  at  a  considerable  distance,  which 
renders  the  navigation  comparatively  easy,  re- 
quiring only  careful  hands  stationed  to  look 
out  aloft,  and  guide  the  vessel  through  them 
by  the  eye.  One  of  the  greatest  disadvant- 
ages of  the  port,  is  the  distance  of  the  an- 
chorage for  ships  from  the  shore,  which  is 
often  four  or  five  miles.  His  Majesty's  ship 
Favourite  anchored  to  the  south-east  of  the 
islands,  having  the  fort  of  Maharag  to  bear 
north-west,  and  the  northern  extreme  of  Arad 
Island  north  by  west,  where  she  was  well 
sheltered  from  north-west  winds.  The  Com- 
pany's cruisers,  however,  usually  anchor  on 


298  ANCHORAGE    NEAR    MINAWAH. 

the  north-west  side  of  the  islands,  with  the 
following  bearings :  the  town  of  Semahee? 
east  half-north ;  the  central  village  on  Arad, 
east  by  south  half-south ;  Maharag  town, 
south-east  half-east;  Minawah,  on  Bahrein, 
south  half-east ;  and  an  old  Portuguese  fort 
on  a  rising  ground,  on  the  same  island, 
south-west.  This  anchorage  is  in  three  and 
a-half  fathoms  water  on  a  sandy  bottom,  and 
is  about  three  miles  off  shore  ;  but  though 
well  sheltered  here  from  all  but  north-west 
winds,  it  is  dangerous  by  its  exposure  to  them, 
as  that  is  the  prevailing  quarter  from  which 
they  blow  throughout  the  Persian  Gulf,  and 
there  is  then  an  extensive  coral  shoal,  not 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  south- 
east of  the  anchorage,  which  presents  a  lee 
shore  to  vessels  riding  here.  The  high  land 
of  Kateef,  as  seen  from  hence,  bears  west  by 
north  half-north,  at  a  considerable  distance. 
There  is,  however,  a  much  more  secure,  con- 
venient, and  in  every  respect  better  anchor- 
age than  either  of  these  two,  within  half  a 
mile  of  the  town  of  Minawah,  where  the 
dows  and  country  vessels  all  lie  in  three  and 
a-half  and  four  fathoms  water :  the  fort  in 
the  centre  of  the  town  bearing  south-south- 


THE    PEARL    FISHERY    OF    BAHREIN.        299 

east;  a  patch  of  coral  shoal  without,  north- 
north-west  ;  the  Portuguese  fort  on  Bahrein, 
about  west  by  north ;  and  the  centre  of  the 
town  of  Maharag,  east. 

The  pearl  fishery,  of  which  these  islands 
form  the  centre,  is  calculated  to  yield  an- 
nually about  twenty  lacks  of  rupees  worth 
for  exportation,  the  greatest  portion  of  which 
find  their  way  to  India,  and  the  remainder 
are  dispersed  throughout  the  Persian  and 
Turkish  empires,  by  way  of  Bushire,  Bus- 
sorah,  and  Bagdad,  and  from  thence  to  Con- 
stantinople, Syria,  Egypt,  and  even  as  far  as 
the  great  capitals  of  Europe.  The  bank  on 
which  this  fishery  is  carried  on,  extends  from 
Bahrein,  nearly  to  Ras-el-Khyma ;  and  the 
finest  of  the  pearls  are  found  among  the 
group  of  Maude's  Islands,  near  Haloola, 
(which  may  derive  its  name  from  loolo,  the 
Arabic  name  for  a  pearl,)  and  Geziret  Beni 
Aass.  The  islands  of  Bahrein  furnish  an- 
nually about  a  thousand  boats;  the  tribes 
of  Beni  Aass  at  Bethoobah,  or  Boothabean, 
about  five  hundred ;  and  the  other  small 
ports  along  that  coast  an  equal  number  ;  be- 
sides those  which  sometimes  come  over  from 
the  Persian  shore.     It  is  said  by  some  that 


300  PEARL    FISHERY    OF    BAHREIN. 

any  boats  may  fish  for  oysters  on  these  banks 
without  paying  for  such  a  privilege ;  but 
others  contend  that  every  boat  found  there 
must  pay  a  fixed  tribute  to  the  Sheik  of 
Bahrein.  Both  parties  admit,  however,  that 
when  any  danger  of  capture  from  pirates 
is  apprehended,  the  Sheik  furnishes  several 
armed  vessels  to  protect  the  whole ;  and  for 
this  he  claims  a  tribute  of  from  six  to  ten 
pearls  from  each  boat,  according  to  her  size 
and  importance. 

The  fishery  is  carried  on  during  the  sum- 
mer months  only,  when  the  bank  is  covered 
by  boats  throughout  its  whole  extent.  The 
divers  are  Arabs  and  negro  slaves,  who  are 
mostly  trained  to  the  practice  from  their 
youth.  They  commence  their  labours  at  sun- 
rise, and  continue  generally  until  sun-set. 
They  go  down  in  all  depths,  from  five  to 
fifteen  fathoms ;  remaining  from  two  to  five 
minutes,  and  bringing  up  with  them  from 
eight  to  twelve  oysters  in  both  hands.  On 
reaching  the  surface,  they  barely  take  time 
to  recover  breath,  and  then  dive  again  im- 
mediately, as  it  is  found  that  any  length  of 
repose  between,  rather  weakens  than  recruits 


PEARL    FISHERY    OF    BAHREIN.  301 

the  diver.  All  the  gains  of  the  fishery  are 
divided  in  the  most  equitable  way,  by  shares 
in  proportion  to  the  capital  embarked  in  the 
boats  ;  and  those  who  have  not  at  all  contri- 
buted to  their  equipment  are  yet  paid  in  pro- 
portionate shares  also  ;  so  that  all  parties  are 
interested  in  the  gains  of  the  concern,  and 
all  prosecute  their  labours  willingly.  The 
food  of  the  divers,  during  the  season,  is 
chiefly  fish,  dates,  and  a  small  portion  of 
bread,  rice,  and  oil.  During  the  fair  season, 
they  barely  earn  enough  to  keep  them 
through  the  winter,  which  they  pass,  like 
the  sailors  of  all  other  countries  when  on 
shore,  in  as  great  a  state  of  indolence  and 
dissipation  as  their  religion  and  their  habits 
will  admit  of  These  men,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, who  pass  one-half  of  their  lives  in  the 
most  fatiguing  labours,  and  the  other  half  in 
dissipation,  seldom  live  to  an  old  age.  They 
use  the  precaution  of  oiling  the  orifices  of 
their  ears,  and  placing  a  horn  over  the  nose 
when  they  dive,  to  prevent  the  water  from 
entering  by  these  apertures  ;  but  when  they 
have  been  long  engaged  in  this  service,  their 
bodies  are  subject  to  break  out  in  sores,  and 


302        THE    PEATIL    FISHERY    OF    BAHREIN. 

their  eyes  become  blood-shot  and  weak  ;  and 
all  their  faculties  seem  to  undergo  a  prema- 
ture decay. 

The  terms  of  conducting  an  adventure  in 
this  fishery,  vary  so  much  at  every  season, 
and  with  every  individual  boat,  that  no  rule 
can  be  laid  down  as  a  general  one,  except  that 
each  party  is  allowed  to  participate  in  the 
gain,  in  proportion  to  the  capital  he  has 
embarked,  or  the  personal  service  which  he 
renders,  and  that  strict  justice  and  imparti- 
ality in  the  division  prevails. 

The  largest  and  finest  pearls  are  brought 
up  from  the  deepest  water,  and  all  of  them 
are  said  to  be  as  hard  when  they  are  first 
taken  out  of  the  fish,  as  they  are  ever  after- 
wards. They  are,  when  new,  of  a  purer  white 
than  after  they  become  exposed  to  the  air; 
and  are  calculated  to  lose,  in  this  respect,  one 
per  cent,  annually  in  value.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  pearls  found :  the  yellow  one,  which 
is  sent  chiefly  to  India,  where  those  with  this 
tinge  are  preferred ;  and  the  pure  white, 
which  are  more  esteemed  in  Europe,  and  find 
a  better  market  also  at  all  the  great  Turkish 
and  Persian  towns.  The  pearl  of  Bahrein  is 
considered  bj  all  as  very  superior  to  that  of 


FRESH-WATER    SPRINGS    OF    BAHREIN.      303 

Ceylon.  The  last  is  said  to  peel  off,  from 
not  having  acquired  its  perfect  consistency 
when  first  taken,  and  to  lose  constantly  in 
colour ;  whereas  that  of  Bahrein  is  firm,  and 
secure  from  that  injury,  and  after  a  period  of 
about  fifty  years,  ceases  to  lose  any  thing  in 
purity  of  colour.  Before  the  pearls  are  sent 
off  from  the  island,  they  are  carefully  assort- 
ed as  to  size,  shape,  tint,  &c.,  and  being  drilled 
through,  are  strung  on  threads,  and  made  up 
into  round  bundles  of  about  three  inches 
diameter,  sealed  and  directed,  and  sent  in 
that  form  to  distant  markets.  They  are 
then  called  metaphorically,  '  Roomaan  el 
Bahr,'  or  '  Pomegranates  of  the  Sea,'  as  that 
fruit  is  in  great  esteem  here,  and  these  bun- 
dles resemble  them  almost  exactly  in  form 
and  size. 

Bahrein  is  famous  also  for  its  springs  of 
fresh-water  arising  in  the  sea.  One  of  these 
rises  in  three  fathoms,  where  the  fresh-water 
gushes  up  through  the  sand  of  the  bottom 
with  great  force.  A  jar  is  fitted  to  the 
mouth  of  this  spring,  and  the  person  who 
procures  the  water  from  it,  dives  with  an 
empty  bag,  made  of  a  goat's  skin,  rolled  up 
under  his  arm  :    this  he  dexterously  places 


304        FRESH-WATER    SPRINGS    OF    BAHREm. 

over  the  mouth  of  the  jar,  and  it  being  filled 
in  a  few  seconds,  it  floats  up  to  the  surface 
with  him.  There  are  four  or  five  springs 
of  this  kind  around  the  island  ;  and  the  only 
water  which  is  drunk  at  Arad,  is  procured 
from  one  of  these,  situated  a  few  yards  below 
low-water  mark  on  the  sandy  beach  there. 
The  water  from  all  these  springs  is  in  itself 
very  fresh;  but  from  want  of  care  in  fitting 
the  skins  on  their  orifices,  the  sea-water  is 
often  admitted  with  it,  and  makes  it  brackish. 
A  similar  spring  to  these,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, was  discovered  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  near  the  Phoenician  island  of  Aradus,  on 
the  coast  of  Syria.  The  inhabitants  of  that 
place  are  said,  however,  by  Strabo,  to  have 
drawn  their  water  from  thence  by  means  of 
a  leaden  bell,  and  a  leathern  pipe  fitted  to 
its  bottom — a  refinement  in  art,  to  which  the 
people  of  Bahrein,  with  all  the  wealth  which 
their  sea  of  pearls  affords  them,  have  not 
yet  arrived.  The  Arad  of  the  Persian  Gulf 
had  at  least  this  one  feature  of  resemblance 
to  the  Aradus  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  : 
and  both  Tylos  and  it  were  worthy  of  their 
names,  from  the  riches  which  they  drew 
from  the  ocean  ;  as  colonies  of  a  state,  like 


FORMATION    OF    PEARLS.  305 

Tyre,  whose  strength  was  in  her  shipping 
and  her  commerce,  and  whose  purple,  that 
dyed  the  robes  of  kings  and  emperors  in  an- 
cient days,  was  drawn  from  the  same  element 
as  the  pearls  which  went  from  hence  to  deck 
the  crowns  and  diadems  of  queens  and  em- 
presses, and  serve  more  generally  the  pur- 
poses of  ornament  and  decoration  in  modern 
times. 

It  has  been  thought  that  these  fresh  springs 
rising  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  as  well  as 
the  plentiful  fall  of  rains  from  above,  are  fa- 
vourable to  the  formation  of  the  pearl.  Mr. 
Morier  says,  '  The  fishermen  always  augur 
a  good  season  of  the  pearl  when  there  have 
been  plentiful  rains  ;  and  so  accurately  has 
experience  taught  them  this,  that  when  corn 
is  very  cheap,  they  increase  their  demands  for 
fishing.  The  connexion  is  so  well  ascer- 
tained, (at  least,  so  fully  credited, — not  by 
them  only,  but  by  the  merchants  at  large,) 
that  the  prices  paid  to  the  fishermen  are, 
in  fact,  always  raised  when  there  have  been 
great  rains.' ^  There  is  a  curious  passage  in 
Benjamin  of  Tudela,  relating  to  the  supposed 
formation    of  pearls,  which  seems  to  prove 

*  Morier's  Travels  through  Persia.  4to. 
VOL.  II.  X 


306  LAGHE^E. 

that  it  was  a  belief  pretty  widely  extended  ; 
for  he  speaks  of  the  people  of  Kathipan,  a 
very  distant  place  in  India,  where  there  were 
jfifty  thousand  Jews  ;  attributing  the  forma- 
tion to  the  fall  of  a  dew  at  a  fixed  period, 
which  they  collected  from  the  surface  of 
the  waters,  and  afterwards  caused  to  descend 
to  the  bottom  of  the' sea.  "^ 

In  the  bottom  of  this  bay  of  Bahrein,  about 
twelve  hours'  sail  to  the  south-west  of  Ras 
Rekkan,  or  Ras  Sharek,  and  from  five  to  six 
hours'  sail  to  the  southward  generally  of 
Bahrein,  is  the  creek  and  port  of  Laghere. 
In  this  creek,  the  boats  of  the  pearl  fishery 
are  laid  up  during  the  winter,  to  the  num- 
ber of  several  hundred  sail,  as  the  creek  is 
capacious,  and  extends  for  many  miles  inland. 

*  *  C'est  en  ce  lieu(Kathipan)  que  se  trouve  le  Bdellium,  qui 
est  un  ouvrage  merveilleux  de  lOj  Nature  fait  de  cette  maniere. 
Le  14  du  mois  Nisan,  il  tombe  sur  la  superficie  des  eaux  une 
rosee  que  les  habitans  recueillent ;  apres  Tavoir  renferraee,  ils 
la  jettent  dans  la  mer,  afin  qu'elle  aille  au  fond.  Mais  au  milieu 
du  mois  Tisri,  deux  hommes  descend  au  fond  de  la  mer,  attaches 
a  des  cordes,  qu'on  retire,  apres  qu'ils  ont  ramasses  de  certains 
reptiles,  qu'on  ouvre  ou  qu'on  fend  pour  en  tirer  la  pierre  pre- 
cieuse  qui  y  est  renfermee." — Bergeroris  Collection  de  Voyages, 
Paris,  4to.  p.  52,  53.  By  whatever  name  the  pearl  was  known 
in  the  country  of-Kathipan,  it  is  evident  that  this  description  of 
the  manner  of  procuring  Bdellium,  can  be  meant  of  pearls  only. 


LAHSA.  307 

This  town  of  Laghere  is  considered  as  the 
Mina,  or  Port  of  Lahsa,  a  large  Arab  town, 
about  three  days'  journey  by  camels  into  the 
interior  westerly,  and  nine  other  such  days' 
journeys  from  Derriah,  the  Wahabee  capi- 
tal. The  tribe  of  Arabs  living  there  are 
called  Beni  Asareeah,  and  the  place  is  rec- 
koned to  be  of  some  strength  and  importance. 
During  the  expeditions  of  the  Portuguese 
in  these  seas,  Lahsa  was  the  seat  of  a  king, 
to  whom  both  the  islands  of  Bahrein  and 
the  port  of  Kateef  were  subject;  and  an 
account  is  given  in  the  Portuguese  histories 
of  those  times,  of  an  expedition  from  Ormuz 
against  Bahrein,  on  account  of  Mocrim,  the 
King  of  Lahsa,  having  refused  to  pay  tribute 
to  them.  Bahrein  was  taken  by  the  combined 
arms  of  the  Portuguese  and  Persians ;  and 
Antonio  Correa,  the  leader  of  the  former, 
added  the  title  of  Bahrein  to  his  name.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  of  the  engagement,  Reis  Xa- 
rafo,  or  AsharofF,  the  Persian  admiral,  looked 
on  from  his  vessel  as  an  unconcerned  spec- 
tator ;  but  when  afterwards  the  body  of  King 
Mocrim,  who  was  shot  through  the  thigh,  and 
did  not  die  till  six  days  afterwards,  was  taken 
over  to  Lahsa  to  be  interred,  this  cold-blooded 

X  ^ 


PORT    OF    EL    KATEEF. 

and  cowardly  spectator  went  over  to  the 
town,  and  cut  off  his  head,  which  he  sent 
to  Ormuz.  What  seems  equally  disgraceful 
is,  that  Correa,  the  Portuguese  commander, 
in  memory  of  the  share  which  he  had  in  this 
event,  was  authorized  to  bear  a  king's  head 
in  his  coat  of  arms,  which  is  still,  says  the 
historian  of  his  own  country,  borne  by  his 
descendants.* 

Beyond  Laghere  to  the  north-west  is  the 
town  and  port  of  El  Kateef.  A  plan  of  this 
place,  by  Captain  Simmons,  has  been  seen  by 
Horsburgh,  and  he  judges  from  it  that  it  is  a 
safe  harbour.  In  his  Directory,  he  gives  the 
latitude  of  the  town  as  20^  5&  north,  but  in 
his  chart  it  is  placed  in  lat,  30^  S&  north, 
— a  difference  which  must  have  arisen  from 
an  error  of  the  press.  The  directions  for 
entering  this  port  are  probably  from  Captain 
Simmons  too.  It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that  though  Horsburgh  says,  on  the  autho- 
rity of  the  principal  pilots,  that  the  coast  from 
Graine  to  Katif  lies  south  by  west ;  and  that 

*  Portuguese  Discovery  and  Conquest  of  India,  p.  2,  b.  3, 
c.  1.  sect.  6,  from  the  Portuguese  Asia  of  De  Faria  of  Sousa, 
inserted  in  Kerr's  General  History  of  Voyages  and  Travels, — 
Edinburgh,  1812.   8vo.  vol.  6,  p.  188. 


EL    KATEEK.  309 

a  course  from  the  island  of  Ohah,  of  south 
by  west,  will  carry  a  vessel  inside  the  islands 
between  Graine  and  Kateef,  and  a  course 
of  south  by  east  outside  of  them  ;  yet  he 
lays  down  this  coast  in  his  chart  as  about 
south-east  half-south,  or  nearly  four  points 
different  from  that  given  in  the  Directory.* 
In  a  commercial  work  like  Mr.  Milburn's, 
one  does  not  expect  so  much  hydrographical 
accuracy ;  and  when  we  find  him  placing 
Bahrein  thirty  leagues  west-north-west  from 
Bushire,f  an  error  of  nearly  as  many  leagues 
in  distance,  and  of  about  six  points  in  the 
course,  one  does  not  feel  so  much  disappoint- 
ment ;  but  Captain  Horsburgh  is  an  autho- 
rity so  highly  and  so  deservedly  esteemed, 
that  it  is  in  every  point  of  view  desirable  to 
see  his  excellent  work  as  free  of  blemishes  as 
possible. 

El  Kateef  is  situated  in  about  lat.  26^  20' 

*  HorsburgVs  Sailing  Directions,  p.  247,  4to.  We  have 
great  pleasure  in  saying,  that  in  later  editions  of  these  works, 
these  errors  have  been  revised,  and  that  all  subsequent  improve- 
ments in  our  knowledge  of  these  shores  are  embodied  in  the 
successive  editions  of  Captain  Horsburgh's  Charts  and  Sailing 
Directions  as  they  appear.  See  this  subject  discussed  in  the 
Oriental  Herald,  for  September,  1828. 

t  Milburn's  Oriental  Commerce,  4to.  1813.  vol.  1,  p.  119. 


310  EL    KATEEF. 

north,  and  long,  about  50^  0'  east.  It  is  a 
large  trading  town,  intimately  connected  with 
the  Bahrein  Islands,  and  sharing  in  their 
pearl  fishery  as  well  as  their  general  com- 
merce, though  the  governments  are  independ- 
ent of  each  other.  It  has  a  deep  bay,  in  which 
the  vessels  of  the  pearl  fishery  are  also  laid 
up,  as  well  as  at  Laghere,  during  the  winter 
season.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  confirmed  by 
all  those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
Gulf,  that  no  worms  are  found  to  injure 
vessels'  bottoms,  or  sunken  wood,  through- 
out its  waters,  destructive  as  that  cause  is 
to  ships  in  all  other  seas.  On  the  Persian 
side  of  the  Gulf,  there  are  no  coral  banks, 
and  few  other  shoals,  the  soundings  being 
mostly  regular,  on  a  muddy  bottom,  and 
the  water  thick  and  foul.  On  the  Arabian 
side,  coral  banks  and  shoals  abound,  as  in 
the  Red  Sea,  with  most  irregular  soundings, 
a  rocky  and  sandy  bottom,  and  the  water 
beautifully  transparent.  In  our  progress 
through  it,  we  had  as  yet  seen  no  weeds,  for 
which  the  Red  Sea  was  so  celebrated,  under 
its  title  of  Yam  Sopph,  and  which,  indeed, 
still  abound  there  as  much  as  ever  ;  but  float- 
ing serpents,  of  which  I  do  not  remember 


PERSIAN    GULF.  311 

ever  to  have  heard  mention  in  the  Arabian 
Gulf,  are  found  in  this  of  Persia,  as  w^ell  as 
on  the  coasts  of  Scind,  Guzerat,  and  Hin- 
doostan.  Whether  any,  or  w^hich  of  these 
facts  may  at  all  account  for  there  being  no 
worms  throughout  this  sea,  to  injure  the  bot- 
toms of  vessels,  would  admit  of  some  consi- 
deration. The  whole  of  the  bottom,  from 
Ras-el-Khyma  up  to  Kateef,  and,  as  some 
say,  even  as  far  up  on  this  side  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Euphrates,  presents  broken  ground 
and  sudden  overfalls,  or  unequal  ridges,  to 
the  lead,  differing  five  and  even  ten  fathoms 
at  a  cast ;  and  the  pearl-divers  observe,  that 
in  these  pits  of  the  bottom,  the  best  oysters 
are  found,  under  the  overhanging  edges,  or 
brinks  of  these  openings. 

Proceeding  upwards  from  El  Kateef  to 
the  northward,  or  towards  Graine,  the  coast 
of  the  continent  is  but  little  known  to  Eu- 
ropeans, and  is  navigated  with  great  caution 
by  the  natives,  who,  from  the  abundance  of 
shoals  in  it,  never  move  but  in  the  day-time, 
with  persons  stationed  on  their  yards  and  at 
their  mast-heads  to  look  out,  and  anchoring 
always  before  sun-set,  as  is  done  on  the  coast 
of  the  Red  Sea.     In  this  interval  of  space, 


312 

there  is  however,  in  the  offing  several  islands, 
to  the  number  of  seven,  as  the  native  pilots 
say.  Four  of  these,  which  were  seen  and  vi- 
sited by  Captain  Biddulph,  of  his  Majesty's 
sloop  Hesper,  have  obtained  the  name  of 
Biddulph's  Group,  and  of  these  he  gives  the 
following  positions. 

The  first  island  is  in  lat.  observed  on  it 
27^  55^  50'^  north,  and  long,  by  lunar  distances 
49°  S6'  east.  This  is  not  more  than  three 
hundred  yards  long  and  sixty  broad,  being 
merely  a  sand-bank  elevated  only  four  or 
five  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  totally 
destitute  of  vegetation,  and  lying  in  a  direc- 
tion of  east-north-east  and  west-south-west. 

The  second  island  is  in  lat.  27^  4^4^'  north, 
and  long.  49°  SV  east.  This  is  nearly  a  mile 
in  length,  in  the  direction  of  north-east  by 
north,  and  south-east  by  south,  and  from 
four  to  five  hundred  yards  broad.  Its  ele- 
vation is  not  more  than  five  or  six  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  it  has  only  some  scanty 
vegetation  on  its  southern  edge. 

The  third  island  is  in  lat.  27°  41'  north,  and 
long.  49"^  SV  east.  This  is  of  nearly  a  circu- 
lar form,  and  about  half  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference.    It  is  destitute    of  vegetation,  and 


biddulph's  group.  313 

elevated  seven  or  eight  feet  only  above  the 
sea. 

The  fourth  island  is  in  lat.  27^  42'  north, 
and  long.  49^  2&  east,  it  being  observed  from 
the  ship  to  bear  west-south-west  from  the 
second  island,  distant  five  or  six  miles. 

Between  the  second  and  third  islands  is 
a  good  passage,  with  ten  fathoms,  on  a  sandy 
bottom  in  mid-channel.  These  have  each 
a  coral  reef  around  them,  but  it  does  not 
extend  far  off.  When  the  third  island  bore 
west  by  north  five  miles,  there  were  thirty- 
three  fathoms,  mud  ;  and  on  the  north-east 
side  of  the  second  and  third  islands,  about 
three  miles  off,  there  were  from  twenty  to 
twenty-eight  fathoms,  sand,  in  regular  sound- 
ings. The  first  island  had  seventeen  fa- 
thoms, sand  and  shells,  on  the  west  side, 
about  two  miles  off.  Captain  Biddulph 
landed  on  three  of  the  islands  to  observe, 
and  found  plenty  of  turtle  and  birds'  eggs 
on  all  of  them. 

In  Heather's  chart  of  the  Persian  Gulf, 
there  are  seven  islands  lying  scattered,  with 
some  shoals  among  them,  nearly  in  this  lati- 
tude and  longitude  ;  but  their  individual 
positions  are   most  inaccurate.     The    whole 


314  TOWN    OF    GRAINE. 

number  of  seven  may,  and  do  probably  ex- 
ist, however ;  and  besides  this  group  of  Cap- 
tain Biddulph's,  the  islands  of  Kenn  and 
Zezarine,  as  they  are  called,  further  to  the 
eastward,  may  help  to  complete  the  num- 
ber. 

The  next  port  above  El  Kateef  of  any 
note  on  this  coast,  is  that  of  Graine,  as  it  is 
called  in  our  English  charts,  though  known 
among  the  Arabs  by  the  name  of  Kooete 
only.  This  is  a  port  of  some  importance, 
seated  in  a  fine  bay ;  and  the  town  is  large 
and  populous,  though  the  sandy  desert  presses 
close  upon  its  walls,  and  no  vegetation  is  to  be 
seen  around  it,  within  the  range  of  human 
view.  It  seems  always  to  have  preserved  its 
independence  too,  even  at  the  time  when  Or- 
muz,  Muscat,  Bahrein,  Lahsa,  and  even 
Kateef  and  Bussorah,  which  two  last  were 
garrisoned  by  Turks,  were  assailed  by  the 
Portuguese  arms,^  and  they  still  bear  the  re- 

*  See  a  detail  of  the  operations  against  Kateef  and  Bus- 
sorah, in  the  very  year  in  which  the  Portuguese  poet,  Camoens, 
went  out  to  India  to  endeavour  to  advance  his  fortune  by  the 
sword,  after  it  had  been  so  little  promoted  by  his  pen. — Portu- 
guese Discovery  and  Conquest  of  Asia,  as  before  referred  to  in 
Kerr's  Collection,  vol.  vi.  p.  408—410. 


BAY    OF    GRAINE.  315 

putation  of  being  the  freest  and  the  bravest 
people  throughout  the  Gulf. 

The  town  and  bay  of  Graine  is  in  lat. 
29^  15'  north,  and  about  long.  48*^  0'  east,  or 
nearly  south-south-west  from  the  bar  of  the 
Euphrates,  at  the  distance  of  about  fifty 
miles.  The  town  itself  is  chiefly  inhabited 
by  mercantile  and  trading  people,  who  en- 
gage in  all  the  branches  of  commerce  carried 
on  throughout  the  Gulf.  The  port  sends 
out,  at  least,  a  hundred  sail  of  vessels,  large 
and  small ;  and  the  people  >vho  navigate 
them,  as  well  as  those  for  whom  they  sail, 
have  the  highest  character  for  probity,  skill, 
firmness,  and  courage.  The  bay  admits  of 
excellent  anchorage,  in  convenient  depths, 
from  ten  to  five  fathoms  water  ;  and  it  was 
for  some  time  used  as  the  station  of  the 
East  India  Company's  cruisers,  to  land  and 
wait  for  dispatches  transmitting  between  In- 
dia and  Europe,  during  the  temporary  resi- 
dence there  of  the  Company's  Agent,  who 
had  quitted  Bussorah,  on  account  of  some 
differences  with  the  Turkish  Government. 

The  entrance  to  the  Bay  is  covered  by  a 
group  of  three  small  islands,  following  each 


316      ISLANDS    NEAR   THE    BAY    OF    GRAINE. 

other  in  succession,  in  a  line  of  nearly  south- 
south-east  from  each  other.  To  the  south- 
ward of  these,  at  a  distance  so  as  but  just  to 
be  perceived  from  the  mast-head  of  a  large 
ship  in  the  clearest  day,  is  another  group 
of  three  similar  islands,  more  widely  sepa- 
rated. 

The  name  of  the  northernmost  of  this 
southern  group  is  Koubbeh,  probably  from 
having  a  saint's  tomb  with  a  dome  on  it, 
for  that  the  name  in  Arabic  implies.  This 
is  thought  to  bear  about  south-east,  from 
the  southern  point  of  Grain e  harbour  or 
bay,  at  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles.  The 
name  of  the  second  is  Umm-el-Maradam, 
and  this  lies  south-south-east,  distant  about 
twenty-one  miles  from  the  same  point  of 
Graine  harbour.  The  name  of  the  third  is 
Gharroo,  which  lies  from  the  same  place 
about  south-east,  distant  twenty-five  miles. 

The  name  of  the  three  islands  that  form 
the  northern  group,  beginning  from  the 
northward,  are  Moochan,  Feliche,  and  Ukhar. 
They  lie  in  a  direction  of  south-south-east 
from  each  other  at  intervals  of  four  or  five 
miles  apart,  and  cover  the  mouth  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  bay  of  Graine,  for  which  they 


ISLANDS    NEAR    THE    BAY    OF    GRAINE.      317 

serve  as  sailing  marks.  These  are  all  small ; 
and  Feliche,  the  largest,  is  not  more  than 
seven  miles  in  circumference.  As  far  as  I 
could  learn,  they  were  in  general  barren,  and 
at  present  uninhabited ;  but  as  they  are  said 
to  possess  fresh  water,  they  might  not  always 
have  been  so. 

Notwithstanding  this  long  digression,  a 
word  deserves  to  be  devoted  to  these  is- 
lands, for  the  illustration  of  Ancient  Geo- 
graphy. Arrian,  in  recording  the  design 
which  Alexander  the  Great  entertained  of 
invading  Arabia  by  sea,  enters  into  a  descrip- 
tion of  that  part  of  it  which  borders  on  the 
Persian  Gulf,  beginning  from  the  Euphrates. 
The  extent  of  Arabia,  along  the  sea-coast, 
according  to  the  information  given  of  it  to 
Alexander,  was,  says  his  historian,  not  less 
than  India ;  and  many  islands  lay  not  far 
off  it.  There  were  also  sundry  creeks  and 
other  places  there,  fit  for  the  reception  of  a 
navy  ;  and  divers  convenient  places  to  build 
cities,  which  in  time  might  become  rich  and 
populous.  Two  islands  were  particularly  re- 
ported to  lie  in  the  sea,  over  against  the 
mouth  of  the  Euphrates,  one  of  which  was 
not  above  one  hundred  and  twenty  stadia 


318  THE    ICARUS    OF    ARRIAN. 

distant  from  the  mouth  of  that  river  and  the 
sea-shore.  This  was  the  lesser  of  the  two, 
covered  with  thick  woods,  and  had  a  temple 
on  it  dedicated  to  Diana  ;  the  inhabitants 
had  their  dwellings  round  'the  temple.  The 
report  was  that  harts  and  goats,  and  other 
animals,  strayed  in  the  woods  there  unmo- 
lested, because  it  was  deemed  sacrilegious 
to  take  them  on  any  other  account  than  to 
offer  them  in  sacrifice  to  the  goddess.  This 
island,  as  Aristobulus  tells  us,  Alexander 
ordered  to  be  called  Icarus,  from  one  of 
that  name  in  the  JEgean  Sea,  near  which 
Icarus,  the  son  of  Daedalus,  is  said  to  have 
been  drowned.  The  fable  runs,  that  in  dis- 
obedience to  his  father's  orders,  he  attempted 
to  fly  into  the  upper  regions  of  the  air  with 
wings  cemented  together  with  wax ;  and 
that  these  being  melted  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  he  fell  into  the  sea,  which  was  thence- 
forward called  by  his  name,  as  well  as  the 
small  island  near  the  spot  on  which  he  fell. 

We  have  here  the  measurement  of  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  stadia,  or  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  miles,  for  the  distance  of 
the  Icarus  of  Arrian  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Euphrates.     Strabo  mentions   the   same   is- 


THE    ICARUS    OF    ARRTAN.  319 

land,  and  most  distinctly  states  that  it  would 
be  on  the  right  hand  of  a  voyager  who 
sailed  from  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates 
towards  Arabia,  and  consequently  it  would 
be  near  that  coast.  He  calls  the  temple 
on  it  one  of  Apollo,  instead  of  Diana  ;  but 
in  other  particulars  he  agrees  with  Arrian. 

In  opposition  to  those  two  excellent  autho- 
rities, as  to  distance  and  position.  Col.  Kin- 
nier,  in  his  Geographical  Memoir  of  the 
Persian  Empire,  has  fixed  on  Karek  as  the 
Icarus  of  Arrian  ;  though  that  island,  instead 
of  fifteen,  is  upwards  of  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates  ;  and  on 
sailing  from  .these  towards  the  coast  of  Ara- 
bia, must  be  on  the  left  instead  of  the  right, 
and  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  at 
least,  so  as  not  to  be  at  all  seen.*'  The 
name  of  Karek  seems  in  this  instance  to  have 
been  the  only  foundation  for  such  an  as- 
sumption, probably  from  some  supposed  re- 
semblance to  Icarus ;  but  although  a  name 
given  by  Alexander  to  an  island  like  this 
(for  it  was  evidently  not  its  native  one) 
would  last  but  for  a  short  time  among  the 
people  of  the  country,  as  no  settlers  were 

*  Kinnier's  Memoir,  4to. 


320  THE    TYLUS    OF    ARllIAN. 

placed  there  to  perpetuate  it,  and  though  the 
facts  of  distance  and  position  are  less  equi- 
vocal guides ;  yet,  if  a  resemblance  in  names 
must  be  had,  that  of  Ohhar,  or  Ukhar,  (pro- 
nounced as  a  strong  guttural  in  Arabic,)  may 
be  supposed  to  resemble  the  Greek,  which 
Dr.  Vincent  writes  Ikharus,^  quite  as  closely 
as  that  of  Karek. 

The  other  island,  continues  Arrian,  is  about 
one  day  and  night's  sail  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Euphrates,  and  is  called  Tylus.  It  is 
very  large  and  spacious,  and  not  mountainous, 
nor  woody,  but  produces  plenty  of  several 
sorts  of  fruits,  pleasant  and  agreeable  to  the 
taste,  f  In  this  we  instantly  recognize  the 
present  Bahrein,  which  retains  to  this  day  all 
the  features  here  described. 

It  seems  highly  probable  that  the  present 
town  and  harbour  of  Graine  was  the  Gerrhae 
of  the  ancients.  Strabo  says,  that  the  Sa- 
baeans  furnished  Syria  with  all  the  gold 
which  that  country  received  formerly ;  but 
that  they  were  in  after-times  supplanted  in 
this  trade  by  the  inhabitants  of  Gerrhae,  near 

*  Commerce  and  Navigation  of  the  Ancients, 
t  Rooke's  Arrian,  8vo.  London,  1814,  b.  7.  c.  20.  vol.  ii.  pp. 
166,167. 


GHERRH^.  321 

the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates.^  Its  position 
is  quite  as  favourable  for  such  a  supply  to 
Syria,  as  the  country  of  the  Sabaeans  could 
be ;  but,  from  whatever  source  the  gold  thus 
transported  by  them  was  then  procured,  that 
metal  is  no  longer  an  article  of  trade,  or  even 
of  remittance  in  any  quantity,  from  the  same 
quarter. 

If  an  apology  were  deemed  necessary  for 
so  long  an  interruption  of  the  narrative  of 
my  voyage,  it  might  be  replied,  that  the 
information  here  detailed,  regarding  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  is  almost  alto- 
gether new,  and  must  be  considered  as  at 
least  a  valuable  addition  to  our  hydrogra- 
phical  knowledge  of  this  coast.  The  facts 
have  been  drawn  from  various  sources,  and 
these  all  authentic: — the  manuscript  journals 
of  officers  now  in  our  squadron,  kindly  fur- 
nished to  me  for  inspection  ;  and  the  verbal 
information  of  our  Arab  pilot,  Joomah,  a 
native  of  Bahrein,  and  one  whose  life  had 
been  passed  in  sailing  on  these  seas  for 
the  last  fifty  years.  They  have  been  thought 
the  more  worthy  of  preservation,  as  they 
are    in  general  unknown  to  even    the   pre- 

*  Strabo,  lib.  IG. 
VOL.  II.  Y 


322  ISLAND    OF    SURDY. 

sent  navigators  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  who 
are  all  afraid  to  approach  this  shore,  from 
having  no  charts  or  information  regarding 
it ;  though  the  Arab  pilots  assert  the  pos- 
sibility of  making  a  passage  up  through  all 
the  islands,  and  inside  most  of  them.  As, 
from  the  excessive  heat  of  the  low  and  bar- 
ren deserts,  even  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
the  land  and  sea-breezes  prevail  on  the  Ara- 
bian shore,  a  vessel  might  possibly  make  a 
passage  by  the  aid  of  these  ;  while  the  strong 
north-west  winds,  which  prevail  for  nine 
months  in  the  year  on  the  opposite  coast,  are 
exceedingly  difficult  to  beat  up  against. 

At  sun-set  on  the  evening  of  the  24th,  after 
seeing  the  Arabian  coast,  we  tacked  off  it  in 
thirty-five  fathoms ;  and,  going  seventeen 
miles  to  the  northward,  tacked  on  again, 
in  forty-two  fathoms  water,  on  a  moderately 
soft  bottom. 

Nov.  25th.  —  At  sun-rise  we  had  gone 
about  six  leagues  on  a  true  east-south-east 
course,  when  we  saw  the  small  island  of 
Surdy,  its  centre  bearing  north  half-west,  dis- 
tant three  leagues,  and  our  soundings  in 
thirty-five  fathoms  water. 

This   island  is  in  about   the   latitude   of 


\ 


PYLORA    ISLANDS.  323 

25o  50'.  north,  nearly  nine  leagues  to  the 
westward  of  Bomosa,  and  eight  leagues  to 
the  southward  of  Polior,  according  to  Hors- 
burgh.  It  is  said  to  be  about  six  miles  in 
length,  from  north-east  to  south-west,  and 
not  more  than  four  miles  broad.  From  the 
north-west  end,  a  reef  of  rocks  is  reported 
to  run  out  two  miles  from  the  shore  ;  but 
the  southern  part  of  the  island,  on  which  the 
town  is  situated,  is  said  to  be  clear,  and  safe 
to  approach.  There  are  three  hills  on  the 
island,  two  of  them  near  each  other;  and 
the  third,  which  is  the  highest,  at  a  consi- 
derable distance  to  the  southward  of  them. 
Off  the  town,  at  the  southern  side  of  the 
island,  there  is  said  to  be  good  anchorage  ; 
and  it  is  added,  that  water  and  refreshments 
may  be  obtained  at  a  cheap  rate. 

All  this  cluster  of  islands,  occupying  nearly 
the  mid-channel  of  the  Gulf  between  the 
Arabian  and  Persian  shores,  but  mostly 
nearer  to  the  latter,  including  Surdy,  Nob- 
fleur,  the  Great  and  Little  Tomb,  and  Polior, 
which  is  the  largest  of  the  whole,  would 
seem  to  be  the  Pylora  islands  of  antiquity, 
as  they  correspond  nearly  in  number  and 
position,   and   retain  nearly  the  same  name 

Y   2 


324  THE    GREAT    TOMB. 

in  the  principal   one,  from  which  the  whole 
group  might  have  been  originally  called. 

The  Great  Tomb  is  a  low  island,  little 
more  than  a  league  in  length  from  east  to 
west,  and  somewhat  less  than  that  in  breadth 
from  north  to  south.  The  northern  extreme 
is  the  highest,  and  the  southern  shelves  off 
to  a  flat  beach,  near  which  the  water  is 
shoaler  than  elsewhere  ;  but  as  the  sound- 
ings are  regular,  and  there  are  no  rocks 
known  around  it,  the  whole  of  its  shores  may 
be  said  to  be  safe  to  approach  by  the  lead. 
Near  its  western  end  is  a  small  bay,  conve- 
nient for  landing ;  and  not  far  from  this  are 
some  trees,  close  to  which,  it  is  said,  fresh 
water  may  be  procured.  The  island  is  at 
present  uninhabited ;  and  I  could  not  learn 
that  it  had  ever  been  otherwise,  though  its 
name  is  thought  to  be  Portuguese  in  its  pre- 
sent form,  and  derived  from  the  appearance 
of  some  sepulchres  there.  Sir  Harford  Jones 
gives  to  this  island,  and  a  smaller  one  near 
it,  called  the  Little  Tomb,  the  Persian 
names  of  Gumbad-e-Bousung  and  Gumbad- 
e-Kutcheek,  or  the  '  great  and  little  dome,' 
from  the  domes  which  usually  crown  the 
sepulchres    of  Mohammedan    Imaums ;    but 


II 


SIDODONE. 


325 


we  could  perceive  no  vestige  of  buildings  at 
present  on  either  of  them  ;  nor  could  I 
learn  from  the  Persians  and  Arabs  on  board, 
that  these  had  any  other  names  than  simply 
'  islands,'  in  either  of  these  languages ;  or  if 
there  were  any,  they  were  not  acquainted 
with  them.  It  is  mentioned  as  the  place  of 
anchorage  of  the  fleet  of  Nearchus,  after  the 
grounding  of  the  galleys  on  the  shoal  of 
Oarakhta,  and  is  known  by  the  identity  of  its 
situation,  at  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
stadia  from  that  island,  though  it  is  there 
mentioned  also  without  a  name. 

It  is  among  the  towns  opposite  to  this,  on 
the  Persian  coast,  that  the  Sidodone  of  Near- 
chus is  to  be  sought  for,  the  place' where  he 
watered  his  fleet,  after  their  coming  from  their 
anchorage  at  the  island  of  the  Great  Tomb. 
It  is  as  likely  to  have  been  Shenaz  as  any  of 
the  others ;  for  at  this  they  might  procure 
good  water,  and  fish  at  least,  and  this  it 
seems  was  all  they  could  obtain.  This,  too, 
would  correspond  more  accurately  than  either 
of  the  others  with  the  course  of  the  route, 
and  the  distances  given.  The  passage  of  the 
journal  is,  '  In  the  morning  they  weighed 
again  (from  the  Great  Tomb),  and  keeping 


226  PULORA,    oil    FROOIl. 

an  island,  named  Pulora,  on  their  left,  they 
proceeded  to  a  town  on  the  continent,  called 
Sidodone,  or  Sisidone :  it  was  a  poor  place, 
which  could  afFoYd  no  supply  but  fish  and 
water  ;  for  the  inhabitants  here  also  were 
Ikhthuophagi,  and  had  no  means  of  support 
but  what  they  derived  from  their  fishery.'* 
Dr.  Vincent  had  great  difficulty  in  fixing 
on  this  town,  from  the  discordant  testimo- 
nies of  different  voyagers  along  the  coast ; 
and  it  must  be  confessed,  that  a  comparison 
of  the  names  and  positions  of  the  authori- 
ties he  has  quoted,  would  be  alone  sufficient 
to  discourage  a  man  of  less  perseverance  than 
the  learned  Dean  from  the  tedious  and 
often  unsatisfactory  task  of  endeavouring  to 
reconcile  and  harmonize  them. 

This  island  of  Froor,  though  upwards  of 
two  leagues  in  length,  and  more  than  one  in 
breadth,  is  not  inhabited,  nor  was  it  known 
to  any  of  whom  I  could  enquire  on  board, 
whether  it  possessed  water  or  vegetation.  Its 
appearance  was  favourable  to  the  conjecture 
that  it  had  both  ;  but  this  is  always  liable 
to  error.  There  can  remain  no  doubt  of  this 
island  being  the   Pulora  which  Nearchus  is 

*  Vincent's  Nearchus,  37,  vol.  1,  p.  59. 


PULORA,    POLIOR,    OH    FROOB.  327 

described  to  have  had  on  his  left  hand,  when 
sailing  from  the  desert  one  of  the  Great 
Tomb,  where  the  fleet  had  anchored,  to  the 
town  of  Sidodone,  where  it  procured  water. 
It  seems  singular,  in  this  instance,  that  the 
ancient  Greek  and  modern  English  name 
should  so  nearly  resemble  each  other  in  their 
variation  from  the  original  native  one,  unless 
one  might  suppose  Polior  to  have  been  rather 
derived  from  Pulora  subsequent  to  the  know- 
ledge of  its  being  the  island  so  called  by  the 
Macedonian  admiral ;  but  both  of  them  are 
so  nearly  allied  to  Froor,  when  analysed  and 
compared,  that  they  may  both  have  been 
written  down  from  a  native  mouth,  so  diffi- 
cult is  it  to  catch  with  accuracy  the  sounds 
of  a  foreign  language,  and  still  more  difficult 
to  express  them  in  writing.  The  Greeks 
have  been  loudly  complained  against  for 
their  errors  in  this  respect ;  and  it  is  true 
that  many  of  their  names  are  difficult  to  be 
traced  to  their  source,  or  to  be  recognized 
even  as  corruptions  of  original  native  ones. 
But  the  moderns,  at  least  those  not  skilled 
in  the  languages  of  the  countries  of  which 
they  write,  commit  errors  of  equal  magnitude. 
The  German,  the   French,  and  the  Italian 


328  PULORA,    POLIOR,    Oil    FROOR. 

orthography  and  pronunciation  of  Oriental 
names,  have  often  no  resemblance  to  each 
other  ;  and  while  our  own  countrymen,  even 
in  India,  (who,  navigating,  like  Nearchus,  a 
shore  previously  undescribed  in  books,  call 
the  Joassamee  Pirates  the  tribe  of '  Joe  Has- 
sim,'  and  the  Wahabee  sect  of  Mohamme- 
dans, the  '  War  Bees,')  have  aimed  to  express 
in  a  foreign  name,  some  known  idea  in  their 
own  tongue,  one  can  hardly  wonder  at  the 
Tylos  and  Arathus,  the  ancient  names  of 
Bahrein,  being  converted  into  Tyrus  and 
Aradus,  and  derived  from  those  islands  of 
the  Tyrians  on  the  coast  of  Phoenicia,*  or  at 
Sidodone  being  made  a  colony  of  the  Si- 
donians,-)-  particularly  among  a  people  who, 
from  mere  resemblance  of  sounds,  connected 
Media  with  the  Medea,  and  Persia  with  the 
Perseus,  of  their  prolific  mythology.:]: 

At  noon,  we  were  in  lat.  25°  23'  north, 
and  long.  54°  38'  east,  the  low  land  of  the 
Arabian  coast  being  then  in  sight,  bearing 
from  east  to  east-north-east,  distant  about 
fifteen  miles,  and  our  soundings  in  fourteen 
fathoms  water,  on  a  sandy  bottom. 

*  Strabo,  p.  766.  I  Gronovius  and  Ortelius. 

X  Vincent's  Diss.  vol.  1.  p.  353, 


RUINS    OF    ORMUZ.  329 

We  had  light,  variable  winds  throughout 
the  afternoon,  with  which  we  steered  east- 
erly ;  and  had  at  sun-set  a  portion  of  the 
low  coast  of  Arabia,  appearing  like  an  island, 
bearing  south  by  east,  about  three  leagues 
off;  and  its  other  extreme  bearing  north-^east 
by  east,  somewhat  more  distant ;  our  sound- 
ings in  thirteen  fathoms. 

When  the  day  had  well  closed,  we  had 
a  land-wind  off  the  coast,  blowing  nearly 
from  the  southward.  With  this  we  stood 
along-shore,  to  the  eastward,  shoaling  our 
water  gradually  to  seven  fathoms  at  mid- 
night, when  we  cautiously  hauled  off  a 
little  to  deepen  our  soundings. 

The  whole  of  our  sea- voyage  from  Bu- 
sh ire  down  the  Gulf  having  afforded  no  view 
sufficiently  interesting  for  a  vignette  to  the 
present  chapter,  I  have  profited  by  the  kind- 
ness of  my  excellent  friend,  Mr.  James  Baillie 
Frazer,  whose  works  speak  sufficiently  of  his 
intelligence  and  talents,  to  present  the  reader 
with  a  view  of  the  Ruins  of  Ormuz,  from 
one  of  the  unpublished  sketches  contained 
in  his  portfolio.  I  had  hoped,  indeed,  that 
in  the  course  of  our  voyage  we  might  have 
had  occasion  to  visit  this  spot,  rendered  in- 


330  ISLAND    OF    ORMUZ. 

teresting  by  its  history  and  associations,  and 
immortalized  by  the  verse  of  Milton  : — 

*  High  on  a  throne  of  royal  state,  which  far 
Outshone  the  wealth  of  Ormuz  or  of  Ind, 
Or  where  the  gorgeous  East,  with  richest  hand, 
Showers  on  her  kings  barbaric  pearl  and  gold.'* 

But  not  having  had  this  pleasure,  I  content 
myself  with  subjoining  a  short  notice  of  its 
rise  and  fall,  from  the  History  of  Persia,  as 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  places  in  the 
Gulf;  and  without  some  mention  of  which, 
no  account  of  these  parts  could  be  consi- 
dered complete. 

'  Of  the  numerous  settlements  which  Al- 
buquerque had  made  on  the  coast  of  Per- 
sia, Ormus  was  the  first.  This  island  lies  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Gulf,  and  is  only  a  few 
leagues  distant  from  Gombroon.  It  has 
neither  vegetation  nor  fresh  water.  Its  cir- 
cumference is  not  twenty  miles.  Both  its 
hills  and  plains  are  formed  of  salt ;  and  that 
mineral  is  not  only  impregnated  in  its 
streams,  but  crusts  over  them  like  frozen 
snow.  The  nature  of  the  soil,  or  rather 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  renders  the  heat 
of  summer  more  intolerant  at  Ormus,  than 

*  Milt.  Par.  Lost,  b.  ii. 


J 


ISLAND    OF    ORMUZ.  331 

in  any  of  those  parched  islands,  or  pro- 
vinces, with  which  it  is  surrounded ;  and 
unless  we  consider  the  advantages  which 
it  derives  from  its  excellent  harbour  and 
local  situation,  it  appears  to  be  one  of 
the  last  spots  on  the  globe  which  human 
beings  would  desire  to  inhabit.  The  first 
settlers  on  this  island  were  some  Arabs, 
who  were  compelled  by  the  Tartar  invaders 
of  Persia  to  leave  the  continent.  These 
gave  it  the  name  of  Hormuz,  or  Ormus; 
being  that  of  the  district  which  they  had 
been  obliged  to  abandon.  One  old  fisher- 
man, whose  name  was  Geroon,  is  said  to 
have  been  its  sole  inhabitant  when  this  co- 
lony arrived.  They  remained  masters  of  Or- 
mus till  conquered  by  Albuquerque ;  and 
it  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Por- 
tuguese for  more  than  a  century.  It  had 
become,  during  that  period,  the  emporium 
of  all  the  commerce  of  the  Gulf:  merchants 
from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  had  flocked 
to   a  city  ^  where    their    property  and    per- 

*  This  city  was  at  one  time  very  large  :  little  is  now  left,  ex- 
cept the  ruins  of  the  numerous  reservoirs,  which  had  been  con- 
structed to  preserve  the  rain  that  fell  in  the  periodical  season 
for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants. 


332!  .        ISLAND    OF    ORMUZ. 

sons  were  secure  against  injustice  and  op- 
pression, and  from  whence  they  could  carry 
on  a  profitable  commerce  with  Persia,  Ara- 
bia, and  Turkey,  without  being  exposed  to 
the  dangers  attendant  on  a  residence  in 
these  barbarous  and  unsettled  countries. 

'  Abbas  saw  with  envy  the  prosperity 
of  Ormus :  he  could  not  understand  the 
source  from  which  that  was  derived,  and 
looked  to  its  conquest  as  an  event  that 
would  add  to  both  the  glory  and  the  wealth 
of  his  kingdom.  Emaum  Kooli  Khan,  Go- 
vernor of  Fars,  received  orders  to  under- 
take this  great  enterprise ;  but  the  king 
was  well  aware  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  succeed  without  the  aid  of  a  naval 
equipment.  The  English  were  ready  aux- 
iliaries. An  agreement,  which  exempted 
them  from  paying  customs  on  the  merchan- 
dize they  imported  at  Gombroon,  and  gave 
them  a  share  of  the  duties  taken  from 
others,  added  to  boundless  promises  of  fu- 
ture favour,  were  the  bribes  by  which  the 
agents  of  the  East  India  Company  were 
induced  to  become  the  instruments  of  de- 
stroying this  noble  settlement.  A  fleet  was 
soon   collected :    Persian    troops    were    em- 


i 


ISLAND    OF   ORMUZ.  333 

barked,  and  the  attack  made.  The  Por- 
tuguese defended  themselves  bravely  ;  but, 
worn  down  by  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  al- 
together hopeless  of  succour,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  The  city  was  given 
over  to  the  Persians,  by  whom  it  was  soon 
stript  of  all  that  was  valuable,  and  left  to 
a  natural  decay.  Abbas  was  overjoyed  at 
the  conquest ;  but  all  the  magnificent  plans 
which  he  had  formed  from  having  a  great 
sea -port  in  his  dominions,  terminated  in  his 
giving  his  own  name  to  Gombroon,  which 
he  commanded  to  be  in  future  called  Bun- 
der Abbas,  or  the  Port  of  Abbas.  ^ 

*  If  the  English  ever  indulged  a  hope  of  deriving  permanent 
benefit  from  the  share  they  took  in  this  transaction,  they  were 
completely  disappointed.  They  had,  it  is  true,  revenged  them- 
selves upon  an  enemy  they  hated,  destroyed  a  flourishing  set- 
tlement, and  brought  ruin  and  misery  upon  thousands,  to 
gratify  the  avarice  and  ambition  of  a  despot,  who  promised  to 
enrich  them  by  a  favour,  which  they  should  have  known  was 
not  likely  to  protect  them,  even  during  his  life,  from  the  vio- 
lence and  injustice  of  his  own  officers,  much  less  during  that 
of  his  successors.  The  history  of  the  English  factory  at  Gom- 
broon, from  this  date  till  it  was  finally  abandoned,  is  one  series 
of  disgrace,  of  losses,  and  of  dangers,  as  that  of  every  such 
establishment  in  a  country  like  Persia  must  be.  Had  that 
nation  either  taken  Ormus  for  itself,  or  made  a  settlement  on 
a  more  eligible  island  in  the  Gulf,  it  would  have  carried  on  its 
commerce  with  that  quarter  to  much  greater  advantage  ;  and 


334  ISLAND    OF    ORMUZ. 

'  The   hopes    which    the   servants  of  the 
East  India  Company  had  cherished  from  the 
expulsion    of  the   Portuguese  from  Ormus, 
and  their  other  possessions,  were  completely 
disappointed.     The  treaty  which  Abbas  en- 
tered into  to  obtain   their  aid,  by  which  it 
was  stipulated  that  all  plunder    should   be 
equally   divided,    that  each   should   appoint 
a  governor,  and  that  the  future  customs  both 
of  Ormus  and  Gombroon  should  be  equally 
shared,   was  disregarded  from    the  moment 
the  conquest  was  completed.     The  sanguine 
anticipations   of  one   of  their  chief  agents, 
who  wrote  to  England  "  that  their  dear  in- 
fant" (this  term   was   applied    to   the   com- 
mercial factory  at   Gombroon)   "would   re- 
ceive new    life    if   the    king    but   kept   his 
word,"^  soon  vanished :  and  we  find  the  same 
person,    after    the    fall    of    Ormus,   stating, 
that   no  benefit  whatever  can  be    expected 
from  that  possession,   unless  it  be  held  ex- 
clusively by    the    English.     But    every    ex- 
pectation   of  advantage   that  had  been  in- 

its  political  influence,  both  in   Persia  and  Arabia,  would  have 
remained  unrivalled. 

*  Letter  from  Mr.  Edward  Monnox  to  the  Company,  dated 
Isfahan,  1621. 


IIUINS    OF    OllMUZ. 


dulged,  was  soon  dispelled  by  the  positive 
refusal  of  Abbas  to  allow  the  English  either 
to  fortify  Ormus,  or  any  other  harbour  in 
the  Gulf.'* 

*  History  of  Persia,  vol.  i.  p.  545 — 548. 

To  this  may  be  added  the  following  striking  description  of  this 
celebrated  mart,  by  a  very  early  writer,  who,  in  the  antiquated 
but  forcible  language  of  his  times,  thus  pourtrays  the  fall  of  this 
now  silent  and  desolate  heap  of  ruins  :— 

'  Ormus  is  an  isle  within  the  Gulf;  in  old  times  known  by 
the  name  Geru,  and  before  that,  Ogiris  (but  I  dare  not  say  from 
a  famous  Thseban  of  that  name)  ;  its  circuit  is  fifteen  miles ; 
and  procreates  nothing  note-worthy,  salt  excepted,  of  which 
the  rocks  are  participant,  and  the  silver-shining  sand  expresseth 
sulphur. 

*  At  the  end  of  the  isle  appear  yet  the  ruins  of  that  late  glo- 
rious city,  built  by  the  Portugals,  but  under  command  of  a 
titular  King,  a  Moor.  It  was  once  as  big  as  Exeter,  the 
buildings  fair  and  spacious,  with  some  monasteries,  and  a  large 
bazaar,  or  market. 

*  Of  most  note  and  excellence  is  the  castle,  well- seated,  en- 
trenched, and  fortified.  In  a  word,  this  poor  place,  now  not 
worth  the  owning,  was  but  ten  years  ago  the  only  stately  city 
in  the  Orient,  if  we  may  believe  this  universal  proverb — 

'  Si  terrarum  Orbis,  quaqua  patet,  Annulus  esset, 
Illius  Ormusium  gemma;  decusque  foret. 

'  If  all  the  world  were  but  a  ring, 
Ormus  the  diamond  should  bring. 

*  This  poor  city  was  defrauded  of  her  hopes,  continuing  glory, 
such  time  as  Emangoly-Chawn,  Duke  of  Shyraz  or  Persepolis 
took  it  with  an  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  by  command  of 
the  King  of  Persia,  who  found  himself  bearded  by  the  Portu- 
gall.     Howbeit,  they  had  never  triumphed  over  them,  had  not 


336 


KUINS   OF   ORMUZ. 


some  English  merchant  ships  (then  too  much  abused  by  the 
bragging  Lusitanian,  and  so  exasperated)  helped  them,  by 
whose  valour  and  cannon  the  city  was  sacked  and  depopulated. 
The  captains  (serving  the  East  India  merchants)  were  Captain 
Weddall,  Blyth,  and  Woodcocke. 

'  Their  articles  with  the  Persian  Duke  were,  to  have  the 
lives  of  the  poor  Christians  at  their  disposal,  some  cannons,  and 
half  the  spoil ;  and  accordingly  when  the  city  was  entered,  after 
a  brave  and  tedious  resistance,  forced  to  yield  by  plagues, 
fluxes,  and  famine,  every  house  of  quality,  magazine,  and  monas- 
tery, were  sealed  up,  with  the  signets  of  the  Duke  and  mer- 
chants. By  which  good  order,  the  Company  had  no  doubt  been 
enriched  with  two  millions  of  pounds  (though  but  their  share), 
had  it  not  been  prevented  by  a  rascal  sailor's  covetousness, 
who,  though  he  knew  the  danger  of  his  life  and  loss  of  the 
Christians' credit,  yet  stole  in  a  monastery  sealed  with  both  con- 
sents, commits  sacrilege  upon  the  silver  lamps,  chalices,  cruci- 
fixes, and  other  rich  ornaments,  and  stuffed  so  full,  that  in 
descending,  his  theft  cried  out  against  him,  was  taken  by  the 
Persians,  led  to  the  Duke,  confessed,  and  was  drubbed  right 
handsomely.  But  the  greatest  mischief  came  hereby  unto  the 
English,  for  the  perfidious  Pagans,  though  they  knew  the  mer- 
chants were  not  guilty  of  his  transgression,  and  consequently 
had  not  broke  the  order, — notwithstanding,  the  soldiers  went  to 
the  Duke,  saying,  Shall  we  sit  idle,  while  the  English,  by  stealth 
and  secrecy,  exhaust  all  our  hopes  of  benefit  and  riches  ? 
Whereat  the  Duke,  glad  of  such  advantage,  replied,  If  so,  then 
go  and  have  your  desires.  Whereupon  they  broke  open  the 
houses  and  store  of  what  was  valuable,  and  made  themselves 
masters  of  all  they  found  ;  whilst  the  confident  sailors  lay  brag- 
ging of  their  victories  a-shipboard.  And  when  they  were  pos- 
sessed of  what  was  done,  they  exclaimed  as  men  possessed ; 
but  the  Persians  understood  them  not,  nor  cared  they  what  their 
meaning  was,  seeing  they  verified  the  adage,  Give  losers  leave 
to  prate. 


i 


RUINS    OF    ORMUZ.  337 

'  Yet  they  found  enough  to  throw  away,  by  that  small,  suffi- 
ciently showing  their  luxurious  minds  and  prodigality,  if  they 
had  gotten  more  :  dicing,  whoring,  brawling,  and  tippling,  being 
all  the  relics  of  their  husbandry  and  thankfulness. 

*  Only  Captain  Woodcocke  had  good  luck  and  bad  :  lighting 
upon  a  frigate  that  stole  away,  unwitting  to  the  enemy,  loaden 
with  pearls  and  treasure,  that  he  took  for  prize,  and  kept  all  to 
himself,  perhaps  worth  a  million  of  rials,  or  better.  But  see  ill 
fortune.  The  Whale  (of  which  he  was  captain),  rich  laden  with 
his  masters'  and  his  own  goods,  hard  by  Swally  Road  without 
the  Bar,  sunk,  and  was  swallowed  by  the  sands,  occasioned  by 
a  hole,  neglected  by  the  carpenter,  and  failing  to  carine  or  mend 
her,  the  ports  were  open  and  took  in  water,  which,  to  prove 
that  even  whales  are  subject  to  destruction,  perished  in  that 
merciless  element ;  Woodcocke,  not  long  after,  overwhelming 
his  life  with  too  much  care,  too  unable  to  moderate  so  great 
misfortunes. 

*  This  poor  city  is  now  disrobed  of  all  her  bravery ;  the  Per- 
sians each  month  convey  her  ribs  of  wood  and  stone,  to  aggran- 
dize Gombroone,  not  three  leagues  distant,  out  of  whose  ruins 
she  begins  to  triumph. 

*  Ormus  Island  has  no  fresh  water,  save  what  the  fruitful 
clouds  weep  over  her,  in  sorrow  of  her  desolation,  late  so  popu- 
lous ;  those  are  preserved  in  urns  or  earthen  jars,  and  are  most 
comfortable  to  drink  in,  and  to  give  bedding  a  cool  and  refrige- 
rating sleeping-place;  to  lenify  scorching  Phaeton,  who  is  there 
potent  in  his  flames  and  sulphur.'  * 


*  Herbert's  Travels  in  Persia,  p.  46,  4; 


VOL.  II, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

VISIT  to  RAS-EL-KHYMA NEGOTIATION  WITH 

THE      PIRATES. BOMBARDMENT      OF      THE 

TOWN. 

Nov.  26.' — The  morning  opened  clearly, 
and  we  had  a  moderate  breeze  off  the  land, 
from  the  south-west,  with  smooth  w,ater.  In 
the  course  of  the  night,  we  had  passed  the 
port  of  Sharjee,  on  the  Arabian  coast,  which 
is  not  an  island,  as  laid  down  in  Niebuhr's 
chart,  the  only  one  in  which  it  is  inserted ; 
but  a  small  town,  on  a  sandy  beach,  contain- 
ing from  five  to  six  hundred  inhabitants.  It 
is  situated  in  lat.  25^  34'  north,  and  lies 
eleven  leagues  south-west  of  a  small  island, 
close  to  the  shore,  called  Jeziret-el-Hamra ; 
and  three  leagues  south-west  of  Sharjee  is 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


RAS-EL-KHYMA  THE  CHIEF  PORT  OF  THE  WAHABEE  PIRATES. 


Published  by  tienry  Colburn,  8  New  Burlington  Street.     Jan.  1,  laSS. 


1 


TOWNS    OF    FISHT    AND    EIMAN.  339 

Aboo  Hayle.  Both  of  these  send  boats  to  the 
pearl-fishery  of  Bahrein,  during  the  summer 
months ;  and  for  their  subsistence  during 
the  winter,  they  have  abundance  of  fish,  with 
dates,  and  the  produce  of  their  flocks,  in 
milk,  &c.  though  corn  is  rarely  seen  among 
them  ;  and  rice,  their  only  substitute  for  it, 
is  brought  by  them  from  Muscat  and  Bah- 
rein, to  which  ports  it  finds  its  way  from 
India  and  the  Persian  coasts. 

Next  in  order  to  Sharjee  is  a  small  town, 
called  Fisht,  which  is  less  than  two  hours'  sail 
to  the  north-east  of  it,  and  whose  population 
is  scanty  and  poor. 

Eiman  is  another  small  town,  near  the 
shore,  a  few  hours'  sail  to  the  north-eastward 
of  this,  and,  like  Sharjee,  containing  a  popu- 
lation of  four  to  five  hundred  souls.  These, 
however,  do  not  send  boats  to  the  pearl- 
banks  of  Bahrein,  but  live  chiefly  by  fishing 
on  their  own  coast,  and  the  produce  of  their 
date-trees  and  flocks  on  shore,  being  as  des- 
titute as  the  others  of  corn,  rice,  or  other 
grain. 

In  the  interior  of  the  country,  which  is 
here  a  flat  sandy  plain,  extending  for  several 
leagues    inward,  to  the  foot  of  a  lo>v  range 

z  2 


340  INHABITANTS    OF    THE    INTERIOR. 

6f  broken  hills,  are  Arab  families,  of  the  tribes 
of  Beni  Chittib  and  Naaim,  both  of  which  are 
numerous,  and  live  in  hair-tents,  and  ride 
on  camels,  which  form  their  principal  pro- 
perty, as  they  have  no  horses,  and  but  few 
goats.  Beyond  this,  in  the  interior,  past  the 
line  of  mountains  to  the  westward,  are  Arabs 
of  the  tribe  of  Beni  Aass,  who  are  still  more 
numerous  than  both  the  former  combined, 
and  whose  state  of  existence  is  still  more  rude. 
These  are  described  as  living  even  without 
tents,  lying  on  the  bare  earth,  and  having 
no  other  property  but  camels,  of  whose  hair 
they  make  their  garments,  and  on  whose 
milk  they  entirely  subsist.  Their  sandy 
wastes  do  not  furnish  them  even  with  dates, 
and  rice  and  corn  are  almost  unknown  to 
them.  The  flesh  of  the  camels  that  die  is 
sometimes  eaten  by  them ;  but  this  is  seldom, 
so  that  the  various  preparations  of  milk,  in 
the  form  of  cheese,  butter,  lebben,  &c.  may 
be  said  to  constitute  their  common  food.  It 
is  added,  that  throughout  their  territories 
there  is  but  barely  water  enough  for  theii: 
camels^  who  drink  no  oftener  than  once  in 
two  or  three  days,  and  subsist  on  the  scanty 
supply  of  bitter  and  thorny  plants  scattered 


PROGRESS    TO   RAS-EL-KHYMA.  341 

over  these  desert  regions ;  and  that  this 
water  is  of  so  brackish  and  repulsive  a  taste, 
as  to  be  drinkable  only  in  moments  of  ex- 
treme thirst.  All  these  people  are  Moham- 
medans, of  the  Wahabee  sect,  enthusiastically 
devoted  to  their  religion,  and  ready,  on  all 
occasions,  to  array  themselves  in  battle  against 
its  enemies. 

From  Eiman,  north-eastward,  in  the  line 
of  the  coast,  and  distant  about  two  hours' 
sail,  or  about  ten  miles,  is  Oom-el-Ghiewan, 
which  we  just  discovered  at  sun-rise,  and 
stood  in  for  it  on  an  east-north-east  course. 
In  running  towards  Oom-el-Ghiewan,  we 
had  a  clear  soft  bottom,  and  regular  sound- 
ings, shoaling  from  twelve  fathoms  at  seven 
miles  off,  to  seven  fathoms  within  three  miles 
of  the  shore.  The  coast  itself  presented  a 
line  of  white  sandy  beach,  with  date-groves 
on  the  plain ;  and  at  the  distance  of  twenty 
to  forty  miles  within  this,  rose  a  ridge  of 
lofty  and  broken  hills,  running  almost  north 
and  south  in  the  direction  of  the  shore. 

A  large  fleet  of  boats,  to  the  number  of 
more  than  twenty  sail,  were  seen  standing 
after  us  astern,  probably  bound  either  to  Ras- 
el-Khyma,  or  some  other  port  along-shore ; 


342  PROGRESS    TO    RAS-EL-KHYMA. 


m 


but  as  we  carried  all  sail,  we  soon  lost  sight 
of  them.  Other  smaller  rowing-boats  pulled 
off  from  different  parts  of  the  coast,  as  if  to 
speak  with  us;  but  these  also,  for  the  same 
reasons,  were  unable  to  come  within  hail. 

At  nine  p.m.  we  had  approached  within  three 
miles  of  the  shore,  and  were  then  nearly 
abreast  of  Oom-el-Ghiewan,  having  it  to  bear 
south-east  on  our  starboard  bow,  as  we  now 
steered  north-east  along  the  line  of  coast  it- 
jself.  The  appearance  of  this  place  was  that 
of  a  square  enclosure,  forming  a  walled  vil- 
lage, as  the  dwellings  within  it  were  visible ; 
a  number  of  circular  towers  at  unequal  dis- 
tances along  the  beach,  and  fragments  of  a 
former  connecting  wall;  with  detached  houses 
and  scattered  huts,  mingled  with  clusters  of 
date-trees.  On  one  of  the  round  towers  a 
flag-staff  was  seen,  on  which  the  Arab  colours 
were  displayed  for  a  short  while,  and  then 
hauled  down  again.  We  noticed  also  three 
large  boats  at  anchor  in  a  creek  or  back- 
water to  the  north-east,  their  masts  appear- 
ing over  a  low  tongue  of  sand,  and  several 
other  boats  dismantled  and  hauled  up  on 
the  beach.  The  appearance  of  four  English 
vessels  had  apparently  created  some  surprise, 


PROGRESS    TO    RAS-EL-KHYMA.  343 

if  not  alarm,  as  most  of  the  population  were 
collected  in  a  crowd  on  the  beach  as  we 
passed. 

We  now  hauled  north-east  along  the  coast, 
with  a  light  breeze  right  aft,  and  had  regu- 
lar soundings  of  six  and  seven  fathoms,  on  a 
sandy  bottom,  at  the  distance  of  three  miles 
from  the  shore. 

At  noon,  we  had  sailed  about  ten  miles 
along  a  flat  sandy  coast,  with  but  few  trees 
on  it ;  and  were  then  just  abreast  of  an  iso- 
lated dwelling  of  some  size,  probably  once  a 
fortified  post,  seated  amid  a  thin  grove  of 
date-trees,  and  called  Beit  Salin-el-Khamees, 
alluding,  perhaps,  to  some  story  connected 
with  the  place.  We  were  now  in  latitude 
25"*  38'  north,  by  observation,  and  longi- 
tude 55""  9^9!  east,  by  account ;  with  the  house 
described,  bearing  south-east,  distant  about 
three  miles,  in  seven  fathoms  water,  and  the 
town  of  Jeziret-el-Hamra,  just  rising  in 
sight,  bearing  east-north-east,  distant  seven 
or  eight  miles. 

We  stood  on  north-east,  along  the  line  of 
the  coast,  and  having  a  fine  leading  breeze, 
were  abreast  of  Jeziret-el-Hamra  about  three 
o'clock,  our  soundings  continuing  at  six  and 


344  PROGRESS    TO    RAS-EL-KHYMA. 


seven  fathoms  throughout.  This  town  is 
seated  on  a  small  low  island  of  sand,  sepa- 
rated from  the  main  by  a  strait,  which  is  at 
all  times  fordable,  and  never  admits  a  passage 
for  the  smallest  boats. 

At  the  period  of  the  first  expedition 
against  the  strong-holds  of  the  Joassamees, 
in  1808,  this  was  destroyed;  and  since  that 
period  it  has  never  recovered  itself,  the  few 
who  saved  themselves  by  flight  having  added 
to  the  population  of  Ras-el-Khyma  for  mu- 
tual strength  and  security.  At  present,  how- 
ever, this  place  still  presents  the  appearance 
of  many  perfect  buildings,  with  round  towers 
and  walls,  all  seemingly  of  white  stone, 
though  only  a  few  fishermen  resort  here  in 
the  fair  season. 

The  wind  now  slackened,  and  it  was  not 
until  four  p.m.,  after  sailing  about  two  miles 
on  a  north-east  course,  with  the  same  sound- 
ings, that  we  perceived  the  town  of  Ras- 
el-Khyma,  rising  from  the  water-line  at 
the  foot  of  the  lofty  mountains  in  the  east* 
north-east.  We  hauled  immediately  towards 
it,  going  little  more  than  two  miles  an  hour, 
and  shoaling  our  water  gradually  from  eight 
to  six  fathoms. 


■ 


PROGRESS    TO    RAS-EL-KHYMA.  345 

At  sun-set,  having  gone  about  eight  miles 
on  a  north-east  by  east  course,  we  anchored 
in  the  last  named  depth,  on  a  sandy  bot- 
tom, with  the  following  bearings  :  northern 
extreme  of  the  town,  south-east  quarter 
south,  three  and  a-half  miles;  town  of  Ramms, 
north-east  by  east,  three-quarters  east,  eight 
miles  ;  Jeziret-el-Hamra,  south-west  quarter 
west,  ten  miles ;  Rash  Shahm,  north-east 
half  north,  twenty -five  miles  ;  Ras  Khassab, 
north-east  three-quarters  north,  thirty-five 
miles  ;  high  land  of  Gombroon,  north  by 
east,  three-quarters  east,  eighty  miles ;  islands 
of  the  Great  and  Little  Tombs,  north  by 
west  half-west,  thirty-five  miles. 

As  the  arrival  of  the  squadron  had  excited 
a  considerable  degree  of  alarm  in  the  minds 
of  the  natives,  since  they  had  been  prepared 
to  expect  hostile  measures,  the  whole  of  the 
night  appeared  to  have  been  passed  by  them 
in  preparation  for  defence,  and  we  witnessed 
a  continual  discharge  of  musketry  in  different 
quarters  of  the  town,  and  even  of  cannon, 
from  the  towers  and  forts. 

Nov.  27th. — At  day-light  in  the  morning, 
a  boat  was  sent  from  the  Challenger,  under 
the  charge  of  Mr.  Wimble,  second  lieutenant, 


346  LETTER    TO    THE    PIRATE    CHIEF. 


to  take  on  shore  Mr.  Taylor  and  the  Arab 
Mollah,  as  bearers  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bruce. 
The  purport  of  this  letter  was  briefly  this  : 
It  stated  the  firm  conviction  of  the  British 
Government,  that  the  capture  of  the  vessels 
in  the  Red  Sea,  under  their  flag,  was  com- 
mitted with  a  knowledge  of  their  being  Eng- 
lish property;  and  waived  all  further  discus- 
sion on  that  point.  It  insisted  on  the  imme- 
diate restoration  of  the  plundered  property, 
amounting  to  about  twelve  lacks  of  rupees. 
It  demanded  also,  that  the  commander  of 
the  piratical  squadron,  Ameer  Ibrahim,  should 
be  delivered  up  for  punishment,  and  that 
two  of  the  sons  of  their  chiefs  should  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Bombay  Govern- 
ment as  hostages  for  their  future  conduct. 
A  refusal  to  comply  with  all,  or  any  of  these 
requisitions,  it  was  added,  would  be  consi- 
dered as  a  defiance  of  the  British  power  ; 
and  therefore  noon  was  fixed  for  the  return 
of  a  definitive  answer,  by  which  the  future 
movements  of  the  squadron  would  be  regu- 
lated. 

On  the  return  of  the  bearers  of  this  letter 
to  the  ship,  they  reported  that  they  had 
landed  on  the  beach,  and  made  their  way  to 


^ 


I 


I 


VISIT    TO    THE    PIRATE    CHIEF.  347 

the  gate  of  the  town,  which  was  guarded  by 
persons  within,  who  opened  it  only  a  few 
inches  to  receive  the  letter  brought ;  that 
the  gate  was  then  closed  in  their  faces;  so 
that  they  were  obliged  to  return  to  the  boat, 
without  having  been  permitted  to  enter 
any  part  of  the  town,  or  to  go  in  any  other 
than  a  straight  line  to  the  beach. 

As  Captain  Bridges  did  not  feel  perfectly 
assured  of  the  letter  having  reached  its 
destination,  and  suspected  that  its  not  hav- 
ing been  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chief  himself  might  be  afterwards  urged  as 
an  evasion  of  the  requisitions  it  contained, 
he  was  desirous  of  ascertaining  the  fact  more 
clearly,  as  well  as  of  reconnoitring  more 
closely  in  person  the  place  of  landing,  the 
soundings,  fortifications,  &c.  This  wish  was 
expressed  to  me  by  Captain  Bridges  himself, 
and  my  opinion  of  its  practicability  asked, 
which  was  followed  up  by  a  request  that  I 
would  accompany  him  to  assist  in  that  duty> 
and  serve  him  at  the  same  time  as  interpre- 
ter, to  which  I  readily  assented. 

We  quitted  the  ship  together  about  nine 
o'clock,  and  pulled  straight  to  the  shore, 
sounding  all  the  way  as  we  went,  and  gradu- 


348  VISIT    TO    THE    PIRATE    CHIEF. 

ally  shoaling  our  water  from  six  fathoms,  the 
depth  in  which  we  rode,  to  two  and  a-half 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  beach, 
where  four  large  dows  lay  at  anchor,  ranged 
in  a  line,  with  their  heads  to  seaward,  each 
of  them  mounting  several  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  being  full  of  men.  We  were  hailed  in 
passing  these,  gave  the  necessary  reply,  and 
passed  on. 

On    landing  on   the  beach,  we  found  its 
whole  length  guarded  by  a  line  of  armed 
men,  some  bearing  muskets,  but  the  greater 
number    armed    with    swords,    shields,    and 
spears  ;    most  of  them   were  negroes,  whom 
the  Joassamees  spare  in  their  wars,  looking  on 
them  rather  as  property  and  articles  of  mer- 
chandize, than  in  the  light  of  infidels  or  ene- 
mies.   It  at  first  appeared  to  us  that  this  line 
would  oppose  our  progress,  since  they  were 
evidently  placed  there  to  cut  off  any  approach 
to  the  town ;  but,  on  beckoning  to  those  im- 
mediately opposite  to  our  place  of  landing,  a 
party  of  them  came  near.     To  these  I  com- 
municated,  in  Arabic,  our  wish  of  being  con- 
ducted to  the  presence  of  Hassan  ben  Rahma, 
the  Chief  himself,  as  we  had  some  commu- 
nications to  make  to  him  personally.     This 


INTERVIEW    WITH    THE    PIRATE    CHIEF.      349 

was  instantly  complied  with,  and  we  proceeded 
under  their  escort,  myself  perfectly  unarmed, 
and  Captain  Bridges  wearing  only  a  sword. 
As  we  were  led  through  narrow  passages, 
between  lines  of  grass  huts  and  small  build- 
ings, great  pains  were  taken  to  prevent  our 
seeing  any  thing  to  the  right  or  the  left,  or 
making  any  observation  on  the  plan  of  the 
town  ;  while  men,  women,  and  children,  who 
had  all  collected  to  see  us  pass,  were  driven 
before  us  by  the  spearmen,  and  made  to  fly 
in  every  direction. 

When  we  reached  the  gate  of  the  principal 
building,  which  was  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  town,  we  were  met  by  the  Pirate  Chief, 
attended  by  a  retinue  of  about  fifty  armed 
men.  I  offered  him  the  Mohammedan  salu- 
tation of  peace,  w^hich  he  returned  to  me 
without  hesitation,  believing  me  to  be,  as  re- 
presented, a  merchant  of  Egypt,  on  my  way 
to  India,  who  had  given  my  services  to  the 
English  captain,  as  an  interpreter,  because 
I  understood  his  tongue  as  well  as  my  own, 
and  wished  that  no  blood  might  be  spilt 
through  ignorance  or  misconception  of  each 
other's  meaning.  After  a  few  complimentary 
expressions  on   either    side,  he  bade  us   be 


350      INTERVIEW    WITH    THE    PIRATE    CHIEF. 

seated.  As  we  were  in  the  public  street, 
.there  were  neither  carpets,  mats,  nor  cushions, 
but  we  all  sat  on  the  ground.  I  then  ob- 
served to  him,  at  the  request  of  Captain 
Bridges,  that  as  the  messengers  by  whom  the 
letter  was  sent  to  him  in  the  morning,  had 
not  found  access  to  his  presence,  we  had 
come  to  ascertain  from  his  own  mouth, 
whether  the  letter  had  reached  his  hands, 
whether  he  perfectly  understood  its  contents, 
and  whether  an  answer  would  be  given  to  it 
within  the  time  specified,  or  at  noon  of  the 
present  day.  He  replied  in  the  affirmative  to 
all  these,  offered  us  repeated  assurances  of 
our  being  in  perfect  safety,  and  expressed  a 
hope  that  the  affair  would  be  amicably  ac- 
commodated. We  repeated  our  assurances 
also,  that  no  breach  of  faith  would  be  made 
on  our  parts  ;  and  after  some  few  enquiries 
and  replies  exchanged  between  us,  we  rose 
to  depart,  and  were  escorted  by  armed  men, 
who  cleared  a  path  for  us  to  the  boat  in  the 
same  way  as  we  had  come  from  it. 

The  Chief,  Hassan  ben  Rahma,  whom  we 
had  seen,  was  a  small  man,  apparently  about 
forty  years  of  age,  with  an  expression  of 
cunning  in  his  looks,  and  something  parti- 


THE    TOWN    OF    RAS-EL-KHYiMA.  351 

cularly  sarcastic  in  his  smile.  One  of  his 
eyes  had  been  wounded,  but  his  other  fea- 
tures were  good,  and  his  teeth  beautifully 
white  and  regular,  his  complexion  very  dark, 
and  his  beard  scanty,  and  chiefly  confined  to 
the  chin.  He  was  dressed  in  the  usual  Arab 
garments,  with  a  cashmeer  shawl  turban, 
and  a  scarlet  benish,  of  the  Persian  form,  to 
distinguish  him  from  his  followers.  These 
were  habited  in  the  plainest  garments,  with 
long  shirts  and  kefFeas,  or  handkerchiefs, 
thrown  loosely  over  the  head;  and  most  of 
them,  as  well  as  their  leader,  wore  large 
swords  of  the  old  Norman  form,  with  long 
straight  blades  of  great  breadth,  and  large 
cross  handles,  perfectly  plain ;  short  spears 
were  also  borne  by  some,  with  circular  shields 
of  tough  hide,  ornamented  with  knobs  of 
metal  and  gilding. 

The  town  of  Ras-el-Khyma  is  situated  in 
lat.  ^5«  47'  north,  and  long,  dd""  34'  east,  by 
the  joint  observations  of  the  squadron  on 
the  first  expedition  here,  and  confirmed  by 
our  own  at  present.  It  stands  on  a  narrow 
tongue  of  sandy  land,  pointing  to  the  north- 
eastward, presenting  its  north-west  edge  to 
the  open  sea,  and   its   south-east   one  to  a 


352        POPULATION    AND    MILITARY    FORCE. 

creek,  which  runs  up  within  it  to  the  south- 
westward,  and  affords  a  safe  harbour  for 
boats.  The  town  is  probably  half  a  mile  in 
length,  from  north-east  to  south-west,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  breadth,  from  the  beach 
of  the  sea  to  the  beach  of  the  creek.  There 
appeared  to  be  no  continued  wall  of  defence 
around  it,  though  round  towers  and  portions 
of  walls  are  seen  in  several  parts,  probably 
once  connected  in  line,  but  not  yet  repaired 
since  their  destruction.  The  strongest  points 
of  defence  appear  to  be  in  a  fortress  at  the 
north-east  angle,  and  a  double  round  tower, 
near  the  centre  of  the  town  ;  in  each  of 
which,  guns  are  mounted ;  but  all  the  other 
towers  appear  to  afford  only  shelter  for  mus- 
keteers. The  rest  of  the  town  is  composed 
of  ordinary  buildings  of  unhewn  stone,  and 
huts  of  rushes  and  long  grass,  with  narrow 
avenues  winding  between  them.  The  present 
number  of  inhabitants  may  be  computed  at 
ten  thousand  at  least,  of  whom  probably  three 
thousand  may  be  males,  capable  of  bearing 
arms,  and  certainly  more  than  half  of  these 
are  negroes,  of  African  birth.  The  govern- 
ment is  in  undisputed  possession  of  Hassan 
ben   Rahma,  the   Chief;    and  his  kinsman. 


MARITIME    FORCE.  353 

Ameer  Ibrahim,  is  considered  as  the  commo- 
dore   of  their   maritime    force.       They    are 
thought  to  have  at  present  about  sixty  large 
boats  out  from  their  own  port,  manned  with 
crews  of  from  eighty  to  three  hundred  men 
each.     Forty   other  boats,  of  a  smaller  size, 
may  be  counted  among  their  auxiliaries,  from 
the   ports    of  Sharjee    and    Ramms    on  the 
Arabian  coast     Charrack  and  Linga,  on  the 
Persian  coast,  and  Luft,  on  the  inside  of  the 
island  of  Kishma,  are  subject  to  their  autho- 
rity.    Their    force,    if   concentrated,    would 
thus  amount  to  at  least  a  hundred  vessels, 
with  perhaps  four  hundred  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  about  eight  thousand  fighting  men,  well 
armed  with  muskets,  swords,  and  spears.     No 
circumstances  are  ever  likely  to  bring  these, 
however,  all  together  ;  but  on  an  invasion  of 
their  chief  town,  at  Ras-el-Khyma,  they  could 
certainly  command  a  large  reinforcement  of 
Wahabees,  from  the    Desert,   within  ten  or 
fifteen  days'  notice.     The  cannon  and  mus- 
ketry  of  these    pirates  are   chiefly  procured 
from    the   vessels   which    they  capture ;    but 
their  swords,  shields,  spears,  and  ammunition, 
are  mostly  brought  from  Persia 

The  country  immediately  in  the  vicinity 

vol.     II.  2  A 


354         MOUNTAINS    NEAR   RAS-EL-KHYMA. 

of  Ras-el-Khyma  is  flat  and  sandy ;  but  on 
the  south-east  side  of  the  creek  spoken  of, 
and  all  along  from  thence  to  the  eastward, 
there  appear  to  be  extensive  and  thick  forests 
of  date-trees,  the  fruit  of  which  forms  the 
chief  article  of  food  both  for  the  people 
and  their  cattle.  At  the  termination  of  this 
flat  plain,  which  may  extend,  in  its  various 
windings,  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  back, 
there  rises  a  lofty  range  of  apparently  barren 
mountains.  The  highest  point  of  their  broken 
summits  was  estimated  to  be  about  six  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  their 
general  aspect  was  that  of  lime- stone ;  but 
we  could  obtain  no  specimens  or  fragments 
of  it.  White  strata  were  seen  running  hori- 
zontally near  the  summits,  preserving  every 
where  a  perfect  level,  though  the  summits  ^^ 
themselves  were  ragged  and  uneven.  The^^ 
highest  point  of  these  hills  was  nearly  behind 
Ras-el-Khyma,  in  a  south-east  direction ;  to 
the  north-east  the  ridge  fell  gradually,  until 
it  terminated  in  the  capes  of  Khassab  and 
Shahm,  set  in  the  bearings  of  our  anchor- 
age ;  and  to  the  south-west  it  tapered  away 
almost  to  a  level  with  the  plain,  and  lost  it- 
self in  the  Arabian  Desert. 


INHABITANTS    OF    THE    MOUNTAINS.  355 

In  these  mountains  live  a  people  called 
Sheeheeheen,  who  are  distinguished  from  all 
around  them  by  having  fair  complexions, 
light  hair,  and  blue  eyes,  like  Europeans, 
and  by  speaking  a  distinct  language,  which 
no  one  but  themselves  understand,  and  which 
has  been  compared  by  those  who  have  heard 
it,  to  the  cackling  of  a  hen.  They  live  both 
in  villages  and  in  tents,  and  acknowledge  a 
Sheik  of  their  own  body  as  Chief.  They  have 
three  towns  near  the  coast,  between  Ras- 
el-Khyma  and  Cape  Mussunndom,  called 
Shahm,  Khassab,  and  Jaadi,  each  of  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  nearest  headland. 
These,  however,  are  hardly  considered  to  be 
ports,  since  the  Sheeheeheen  possess  no  trad- 
ing or  war-vessels,  and  only  use  the  sea  in 
fishing  for  the  supply  of  their  own  immediate 
wants.  Most  of  them  speak  Arabic,  besides 
their  own  language,  and  they  are  all  strict 
Mussulmans  of  the  Soonnee  sect,  having 
hitherto  successfully  resisted  the  efforts  of 
the  Wahabees  to  eflFect  their  conversion. 

The  anchorage  off  Ras-el-Khyma  is  an 
open  roadstead,  exposed  to  all  the  fury  of 
the  northerly  and  north-west  winds,  which 
prevail  in  the  Gulf,  and  throw  a  heavy  sea 

2a2 


356  SOUNDINGS. 

into  this  bay  which  then  becomes  also  a  lee 
shore.  In  approaching  it  from  the  offing,  we 
shoaled  our  water  gradually,  on  a  sandy  bot- 
tom, to  six  fathoms,  within  three  miles  of  the 
beach,  where  our  squadron  anchored.  In  our 
way  from  the  vessels  to  the  beach,  in  the 
Challenger's  boat,  we  sounded  as  we  went 
^  along,  and  carried  two  fathoms  and  a  half  to 
within  bare  range  of  gun-shot  from  the 
houses :  just  beyond  this,  a  ridge,  or  bank, 
with  only  ten  feet  on  it,  formed  a  sort  of 
breakwater,  running  along  parallel  to  the 
shore,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the 
beach.  Within  this,  the  water  deepened  again 
to  two  fathoms  and  a  half,  and  here  the 
light  dows  rode  in  smooth  water,  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  shore,  being  sheltered 
from  the  sea  by  the  ridge  spoken  of.  The 
mouth  of  the  creek,  or  back-water,  in  which 
they  haul  up  their  vessels  for  greater  secu- 
rity or  repair,  appeared  to  us  to  be  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  to  the  north-east  of  the  ex- 
treme point  of  the  town,  along  the  line  of 
the  beach.  The  entrance  to  this  creek  is 
impeded  by  a  bar,  over  which  there  are  only 
eleven  feet  at  high-water ;  so  that  it  is  im- 


TIDES.— RAMMS.  357 

passable  at  all  other  times  but  by  vessels  of 
very  easy  draught. 

The  tides  along  this  shore  set  from  north- 
east to  south-west,  in  the  line  of  the  coast ; 
the  north-east  being  the  ebb,  and  the  south- 
west the  flood  :  the  former  winding  round 
Cape  Mussunndom,  out  of  the  Gulf,  and  the 
latter  flowing  up  the  Arabian  shore.  The 
rise  and  fall,  while  we  lay  there,  was  about 
six  feet,  and  the  rate  not  more  than  a  mile 
and  a  half  per  hour,  or  just  sufficient  to 
swing  the  vessels  in  a  light  breeze  ;  but  no 
accurate  observations  were  made  to  ascertain 
the  time  of  high  water  at  full  and  change. 

About  seven  miles  from  Ras-el-Khyma,  to 
the  north-eastward,  is  a  town  called  Ramms, 
which  shows  some  towers  and  dwellings,  and 
has  also  a  creek,  with  a  bar  across  its  en- 
trance. This  place  affords  good  shelter  for 
boats,  and  is  a  dependency  of  the  former, 
as  well  as  Jeziret-el-Hamra,  already  de- 
scribed, lying  south-west  by  west  half-west, 
eleven  miles  from  the  town. 

Captain  Bridges  and  myself  having  return- 
ed to  the  Challenger,  we  waited  until  the 
hour  of  noon  had  passed,  when  a  gun  was 


NEGOTIATION    WITH    THE    PIRATES. 

fired,  the  topsails  sheeted  home,  and  the 
signal  made  to  prepare  to  weigh  anchor- 
This  was  instantly  followed  by  the  whole  of 
the  squadron,  though  it  was  intended  to  wait 
another  hour  of  grace  for  the  answer  from 
the  shore.  In  the  mean  time  a  boat  arrived, 
with  deputies  from  the  Chief,  bringing  a 
reply  to  the  requisitions  sent.  In  this,  he 
stated  the  impossibility  of  restoring  either 
the  property  demanded,  since  that  had  long 
since  been  divided  and  consumed  ;  or  paying 
the  amount  of  its  value  in  money,  as  this 
was  more  than  their  whole  wealth  at  the  pre- 
sent moment  could  furnish.  He  peremptorily 
refused  to  deliver  up  the  Ameer  Ibrahim,  who 
was  his  kinsman  and  near  friend ;  denying 
also  that  this  chief  was  guilty  of  any  thing 
which  deserved  punishment,  in  capturing, 
with  the  vessels  under  his  command,  the  per- 
sons and  property  of  idolaters  and  strangers 
to  the  true  God.  Deputies  were  offered  to 
be  sent  to  Bombay  to  treat  on  the  affair ;  but 
not  in  the  light  of  hostages,  as  demanded, — 
since  safe  protection  would  be  required  for 
their  going  and  returning.  It  was  added 
however,  that,  as  all  things  were  of  God, 
deliberation    might    possibly   accord    better 


NEGOTIATION    WITH    THE    PIRATES.         359 

with  his  councils,  than  hasty  determination ; 
and  it  was  therefore  requested  that  time 
might  be  granted  until  the  next  day's  noon, 
to  know  what  His  wisdom  had  decreed  to 
take  place  between  them. 

The  Letter  of  Public  Instructions  from 
the  Government  of  Bombay  had  ordered  that, 
on  the  refusal  of  the  Joassamee  Chief  to 
comply  with  the  requisitions  therein  stated, 
the  squadron  was  to  quit  the  place,  but  not 
without  signifying  to  him  that  he  might  ex- 
pect the  displeasure  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  be  visited  on  him  and  his  race. 
Notwithstanding  this,  however,  and  the  inso- 
lent as  well  as  evasive  answer  of  the  Chief, 
it  was  determined  to  allow  him  until  the 
following  noon  to  deliberate;  and  our  sails 
were  accordingly  furled,  and  the  signal  for 
weighing  anchor  again  for  the  present  an- 
nulled. 

At  sun-set  the  wind  having  freshened  from 
the  north-west,  and  a  heavy  swell  setting 
into  the  bay,  it  was  deemed  imprudent  to 
continue  at  anchor  there  during  the  night : 
the  squadron  therefore  weighed  in  company, 
and  stood  out  to  sea,  the  wind  increasing  to  a 
gale  towards  midnight. 


360 


ANCHORAGE    NEAR    KISHMA. 


Nov.  2Sih. — It  was  intended,  on  our  leav- 
ing Ras-el-Khyma,  to  have  returned  again  to 
the  anchorage  there  at  sun-rise  this  morning  ; 
but  the  gale  having  obliged  us  to  keep  the 
sea,  we  found  ourselves  at  day-light  nearly 
over  with  the  island  of  Kishma,  on  the  Per- 
sian coast,  having  gradually  deepened  our 
water  in  mid-channel  to  forty-five  fathoms, 
and  from  thence  progressively  shoaled  again. 

At  eight  A.  M.  we  had  closed  in  with 
Kishma,  and  had  the  smaller  island  of  Angar 
under  our  lee  to  the  north-east.  The  land 
had  broken  off  the  heavy  swell  of  the  sea  ; 
and  finding  ourselves  in  smooth  water,  the 
signal  was  made  for  the  Mercury  to  lead  in 
and  anchor  in  the  bight  between  the  islands. 

We  accordingly  stood  in-shore,  gradually 
shoaling  our  water  to  ten  fathoms  within 
about  three  miles  of  the  southern  edge  of 
Kishma,  where  the  soundings  are  erroneously 
marked  in  Arrowsmith's  chart  of  1810,  as 
five  fathoms,  at  a  distance  of  six  miles. 

Bearing  up  from  hence  east-north-east 
along  the  line  of  the  coast,  and  shoaling 
from  ten  to  five  fathoms  as  we  approached 
the  island  of  Angar,  we  anchored  at  noon  in 
that  depth,  on  a  muddy  ground.     Our  place 


ISLAND    OF    KISHMA.  S6l 

of  anchorage,  by  careful  observation,  was 
found  to  be  in  lat.  26^  40'  north,  and  long. 
55^  41'  east,  with  the  following  bearings : 
— western  extreme  of  Kishma,  west  by  south 
twenty  miles ;  eastern  visible  ditto,  east 
half-south,  ten  miles ;  southern  extreme  of 
Angar,  closed  in  far  over  Cape  Mussunndom, 
south,  five  miles  ;  northern  extreme  of  An- 
gar, east  by  south,  three  miles  and  a  half; 
ruins  of  a  town  on  Angar,  east  by  south 
half-south,  three  miles  ;  nearest  part  of  Kish- 
ma, north,  two  miles. 

The  island  of  Kishma  is  the  largest  of  all 
those  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  being  about  sixty 
miles  in  length  from  north-east  to  south- 
west; and  nearly  twenty  miles  in  its  greatest 
breadth,  from  near  Luft,  on  its  northern 
shore,  to  the  point  near  Angar,  on  its  south- 
ern one.  It  is  called  by  the  Arabs,  Jeziret 
Tuweel,  or  Long  Island,  and  is  said  to  have 
been  once  thickly  peopled  by  them.  Their 
deserted  villages,  indeed,  still  remain  ;  but 
the  inhabitants  have  been  driven  out  by  the 
Joassamees,  who  plundered  them  in  succes- 
sive debarkations  on  their  coast,  carried  off 
all  their  cattle  and  moveables,  and  obliged 
them  to  seek  refuge  in  the  opposite  moun- 


S62  ISLAND    OF    KISHMA. 

tains  of  Persia.  The  valleys  are  still  said 
to  be  verdant,  and  both  dates  and  water 
abundant;  but  the  flocks  and  herds,  once 
so  numerous  here,  have  followed  the  fate 
of  their  former  possessors.  The  central  range 
of  hills,  which  traverses  the  island  of  Kish- 
ma  lengthwise,  appears  to  have  been  origi- 
nally a  table  land,  or  elevated  plain ;  but 
this  being  worn  down,  and  broken  at  irre- 
gular intervals,  presents  a  line  of  fantastic 
elevations,  of  moderate  height,  or  generally 
under  one  thousand  feet.  The  soil  is  white 
and  soft,  and,  according  to  report,  antimony 
is  found  in  it.  The  hills  themselves  are  per- 
fectly barren  ;  but  the  valleys  of  the  interior 
are  said  to  be  in  general  fertile.  This  island, 
which  is  called  Kishom,  or  Queixome,  in  the 
old  voyages  of  the  Portuguese,  is  described 
by  them  to  have  been  in  their  days  suffi- 
ciently fertile,  but  very  unhealthy ;  and  this 
complaint  against  the  salubrity  of  its  climate 
still  continues.  It  is  separated  from  the 
main  land  by  a  navigable  strait  of  about  five 
miles  in  general  breadth,  and  having  five 
fathoms  water  in  mid-channel.  To  the 
north-east  of  Kishma,  about  five  leagues,  is 
the  island  of  Ormuz,  the  Harmozia  of  the 


J 


ISLAND    OF    LARACK.  363 

Greeks,  and  the  celebrated  emporium  of  the 
Portuguese,  as  well  as  the  port  of  Shah  Ab- 
bas at  Gomberoon,  called  after  him  Bunder 
Abassi,  of  both  of  which  mention  has  been 
already  made. 

At  the  eastern  extremity  of  Kishma  is  the 
island  of  Larack,  (the  Oracti  of  the  Greeks, 
with  the  Arabic  article  prefixed,)  which  is 
said  to  be  high,  and  to  afford  a  shelter  from 
the  north-west  gales  under  its  lee ;  and  at 
the  southern  edge  of  Kishma,  about  midway 
between  its  eastern  and  western  extremes,  is 
the  island  of  Angar,  which  formed  the  ex- 
cellent anchorage  of  our  squadron.  This 
last  island  is  called  by  the  Arabs  Eneeam, 
and  is  separated  from  Kishma  by  a  strait  of 
about  a  mile  wide,  with  a  clear  passage 
through,  of  six  fathoms,  and  safe  anchorage 
both  within  and  on  either  side  of  it.  The 
island  is  low  towards  its  edges,  moderately 
high  in  the  centre,  nearly  round  in  form, 
and  seemingly  from  four  to  five  miles  in 
diameter,  its  southern  extreme  being  in  lat. 
26°  37'  north. 

Some  observations  made  on  this  island 
during  the  expedition  against  the  Joassa- 
mees  in  1809?  state  that  the  soil  of  which  the 


364  ISLAND    OF    LARACK. 

island  is  composed  is  chiefly  sand  and  clay. 
Wherever  the  sea  has  made  an  irruption, 
the  clay  is  petrified  into  hard  rock  ;  and  not 
long  since  the  roots  of  a  plantation  of  date- 
trees  were  discovered  in  a  complete  state  of 
petrifaction.  Immediately  beneath  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil,  in  a  valley,  which  has  been 
seemingly  overflowed  by  the  sea,  salt  was  also 
found  in  large  spiculae.  On  one  of  the  high- 
est parts  of  this  island  were  found  two  ex- 
cavations, which  were  conceived  to  be  mines ; 
and  from  the  appearance  of  the  soil,  it  was 
thought  probable  that  iron  and  brimstone 
had  been  found  therein ;  indeed  sand  of  a 
ferruginous  quality  abounds  over  every  part 
of  the  island. 

There  is  said  to  be  fresh  water  on  the 
south-west  point  only ;  but  this  article  was 
formerly  collected,  during  the  rains,  in  large 
tanks,  of  which  several  are  still  remaining 
in  a  state  that  would  require  little  expense 
to  put  them  in  perfect  repair.  In  a  failure 
of  rain,  water  could  be  had  from  the  villages 
of  Kishma  only  ;  but  these,  as  well  as  the 
ruined  ones  still  seen  on  Angar,  are  now 
all  depopulated  and  abandoned.  The  island 
of  Kishma,  and  that  of  Angar,  to  the  south 


ISLAND    OF    ANGAR.  365 

of  it,  seem  to  have  been  included  in  the  an»^ 
cient  name  of  Ongana,  which  might  easily 
have  been  corrupted  into  Angar,  and  ap- 
plied only  to  the  last  by  the  moderns,  since 
the  former  was  distinguished  most  appropri- 
ately by  the  Arabs  as  the  '  long  island,'  in 
contradistinction  to  all  the  others  of  the 
Gulf. 

We  had  the  tides  in  our  anchorage  here 
similar  in  rates,  course  of  setting,  and  height 
of  rise,  to  those  of  Ras-el-Khyma,  but  we  had 
not  experienced  the  tide  of  three  miles  per 
hour,  which  is  marked  in  the  chart  to  run 
in  mid-channel.  No  observations  had  been 
taken  for  the  magnetic  variation  since  my 
being  on  board  the  vessel ;  but  half  a  point 
was  allowed  in  a  rough  way  on  the  courses 
steered :  the  variation  of  the  compass  in 
1809  was  8°  45'  west,  as  marked  in  the 
charts. 

The  island  of  Angar,  which  is  called  Hin- 
gam  by  the  Arabs,  is  the  one  mentioned  by 
Nearchus,  as  situated  at  the  distance  of  forty 
stadia  from  the  greater  island  of  Oarakhta, 
and  which  he  says  was  sacred  to  Neptune, 
and  reported   to  be  inaccessible.^     On  this 

*  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  vol.  i.  p.  59. 


366  ISLAND    OF    ANGAU. 

passage   the  learned  illustrator    of  his  voy- 
age says,  'It  was  inaccessible,  perhaps,  from 
some  native  superstition,  like  that  attending 
the   retreat    of   the    Nereid  in   the   Indian 
Ocean,  and  sacred  to  Neptune  in  a  sense  we 
do  not  understand.     The  Greeks  attributed 
the  names  of  their  own*^  deities  to  those  of 
other  nations,  adorned  with  similar  symbols  ; 
and  as  there  is  a  conspicuous  tomb  on  this 
spot   at   present,  it  is  by  no   means  impos- 
sible that  the  representations  on  its  walls,  if 
antique,  might  still  unravel  the  superstition 
alluded  to  in  the  Greek  Neptune.  '*      The 
distance  given  by  Nearchus  is  but  little  in 
excess ;    and   is    as    near    the    truth    as   the 
guess    of   any  modern  navigator   would   be, 
who  had  only  seen,  but  not  actually  mea- 
sured it.     Modern  accounts  of  Hingam,  or 
Angar,  as  it  is  called  in   the  charts,  make 
it  appear  that  the  island  was  at  some  former 
period  well   peopled,  since  the   ruins    of  a 
considerable  town,  and  many  reservoirs  for 
water  similar  to  those  of  Ormuz,  were  ob- 
served there  by   Col.  Kinnier  ;    and  the  re- 
port of  Captain  Wainwright  makes  the  island 
to  be  productive  of  metals,  of  which  some 

*  Vincent's  Dissertation,  b.  4.  vol,  i.  p.  35.5. 


ISLAND    OF    KISHMA.  367 

mines  were  formerly  worked  here.  In  1800 
it  was  recommended  by  Sir  John  Malcolm 
to  Lord  Wellesley,  and  in  1809  by  Captain 
Wainwright  to  the  Bombay  Government,  as 
a  place  admirably  adapted  for  an  English 
settlement ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that 
the  advantages  which  it  offers  of  an  excel- 
lent harbour,  safe  and  easy  of  access  at  all 
times,  with  good  water,  and  a  cultivatable 
soil,  are  not  to  be  found  in  any  other  island 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  that  could  be  so  easily 
defended,  or  is  so  well  situated  for  guarding 
the  entrance  to  the  sea  as  this  is. 

The  island  of  Kishma,  or  Kismis  as  it  is 
called  in  the  charts,  on  the  southern  edge  of 
which  Angar  is  situated,  is  the  largest  and 
the  most  fertile  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 
It  is  the  Oarakhta  of  Nearchus,  the  Ounoctha 
of  Ptolemy,  the  Oracla  of  Pliny,  and  the 
Doracta  of  Strabo,  —  variations  common 
enough  to  all  the  ancient  geographers,  when 
using  foreign  names,  especially  of  places  so 
far  distant  and  so  little  known  as  this  is.  It 
is  called  Queixomo  by  the  Portuguese,  and 
Kismis  by  the  English,  which  is  thought  to 
be  the  same  word,  and  is  conceived  to  be  de- 
rived from  its  production  of  a  small  grape 


368  ISLAND    OF    KISHMA. 

without  seeds,  called  Kismis  in  Persia,  and 
Sultana  in  Turkey,  particularly  at  Smyrna, 
where  it  is    an    article    of  export   to    Eng- 
land.    By  the  Arabs,  however,  this  island  is 
called  Jeziret-Toweel,  and  by   the  Persians 
Jeziret-Drauz,  both  implying  literally  '  Long 
Island ;'  and  as  there  is  at  its  eastern  end  a 
town   called  Kassm,  this  is   more   likely  to 
have  given  it    the    names  of    Kism,  Kishm, 
and  Kismis,  than  the  production  of  the  fruit 
mentioned.     It  is  said  to  have  had  formerly 
three  hundred  villages  upon  it ;  and  the  re- 
port may  be  credited,  for  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  would    be    quite    sufficient    to    support 
them.     At  present,  however,  there  are  not  a 
dozen  hamlets  that  are   inhabited  ;    though 
the   situation,  the  soil,  and  the  climate,  are 
still    as    favourable    as    ever    to    population. 
The  channel  between    this    island   and  the 
continent    of  Persia   is   navigable   for  large 
ships ;    and  our  frigates,  cruisers,  and  trans- 
ports, went  through  it  during  the  expedition 
of  1809  against  the  Joassamee  pirates,  when 
several  of  their  towns  and  strong-holds  in 
this  channel  were  destroyed.     The  ship  Mer- 
cury beat  up  through  it  from  the  westward 
within  the  present   year  ;    and  the  officers 


TOMB    OF    EllYTHRAS.  396 

describe  the  channel  to  be  clear  and  safe,  the 
shores  on  both  sides  well  wooded  and  wa- 
tered, and  the  scenery  of  the  whole  channel 
interesting. 

As  on  most  of  the  islands  throughout  these 
seas,  there   are  several   dome-topped  sepul- 
chres  seen   in   different  parts    of  this ;    and 
it  is  quite  probable  that  a   similar    custom 
of  venerating  the  tombs  of  particular  cha- 
racters prevailing    before    Mohammedanism 
was  in  existence,  might  have  given  rise  to 
the  story  of  King  Erythras    and   his  tomb 
in    this   island.     The  Greek   historian  says, 
'In  Oarakhta  the  inhabitants  pretended  to 
show  the  tomb  of  Erythras,  who,  they  say, 
was   the    first    sovereign    of  their    territory, 
and   who    communicated   his    name    to   the 
Erythrean  Ocean,  or  at  least  to  that  part  of 
it  which  is  comprehended  in  the  Gulf  of  Per- 
sia.'^    After  all  that  has  been  said  on  the 
origin  of  this  name,  I  most  cordially  ,agree 
with  the  learned  illustrator  of  Nearchus,  that 
its  most  probable  derivation  is  from  Edom, 
a  Hebrew  word,  signifying  i^ed, — and  given 
as  a  name  to  Esau,  because   he  desired    to 
be  fed  with  the  red  pottage  which  lost  him 

*  Voyage  of  Nearchus,  vol.  i.  p.  58. 
VOL.    II.  2  B 


370  DEPARTURE    FROM   ANGAR. 

his  birthright.*  Though  Yam-Suph,  or  the 
*  Weedy  Sea,'  is  a  name  strictly  applicable  to 
the  Arabian  Gulf,  notwithstanding  Bruce's 
assertion  to  the  contrary ;  yet  the  Sea  of 
Edom,  as  the  name  of  the  land  it  bordered  on, 
is  much  more  natural ;  and  while  the  Greeks 
translated  this  literally  into  their  own  tongue 
by  the  word  Erythrean,  they  would  apply  it 
as  readily  to  every  part  of  the  ocean  approach* 
ed  from  this  sea  on  the  east,  as  they  did  the 
term  Atlantic  to  the  ocean  approached  by 
Mount  Atlas  at  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  on 
the  west.  The  discovery  of  a  King  Ery- 
thras,  and  even  of  his  sepulchre  at  the  en- 
trance of  a  more  remote  branch  of  this  sea, 
would  be  too  conformable  to  the  taste  and 
fashion  of  the  Greeks,  to  draw  forth  much 
critical  enquiry  into  its  truth  at  the  time  of 
its  being  first  suggested  ;  and,  for  the  same 
reason,  it  can  excite  but  little  surprise 
now.f 

Nov.  29th. — Having  lain  at  the  anchorage 
of  Angar  during  the  whole  of  the  night,  and 
the  strength  of  the  north-west  gale  being 
abated,  we  weighed  with  the  squadron  soon 

*  Genesis  cap.  25,  v.  30. 
t  Vincenfs  Dissertation,  b.  4.  p.  350. 


RETURN    TO    RAS-EL-KHYMA.  371 

after  sun-rise,  and  stood  across  the  Gulf  to- 
wards Ras-el-Khyma,  having,  in  going  out, 
the  same  soundings  we  had  on  coming  in. 

At  noon  we  observed  in  lat.  26°  S2'  north, 
and  were  in  long.  55°  36'  east,  with  the  cen- 
tre of  Angar  bearing  north-east,  and  the 
western  extreme  of  Kishma  west  by  north, 
with  soundings  in  twenty  fathoms,  on  mud. 
The  winds  were  light,  and  hanging  from 
the  westward  through  the  afternoon  ;  and  at 
sun-set  we  had  the  extremes  of  the  Arabian 
land  bearing  from  east  by  north  to  south  by 
east  half-east,  but  no  part  of  the  coast  yet 
visible  above  the  horizon,  and  our  soundings 
deepened  to  forty-two  fathoms. 

Nov.  30th. — We  had  light  winds  through 
the  night  from  off  the  land,  and  at  sun-rise 
had  shoaled  our  water  to  twenty-three  fa- 
thonis  on  a  sandy  bottom,  the  extremes  of  the 
Arabian  land  from  south  by  east  to  north- 
east by  east.  At  9.  30.  a.m.  we  saw  the  town 
of  Ras-el-Khyma,  bearing  south-east,  just 
rising  above  the  horizon,  with  four  large 
dows  at  anchor  abreast  of  it.  At  noon  we 
observed  in  lat.  25°  50^  north,  and  were  in 
long.  55""  34^  east,  with  the  extremes  of  the 
Arabian  land  from  south-south-west  to  north- 

2  B  2 


372      COMMUNICATION    WITH    THE    CHIEF. 

east  by  north,  and  the  centre  of  the  town  of 
Ras-el-Khyma,  south-east,  with  soundings  in 
ten  fathoms,  on  mud.  At  2  p.m.  having  gone 
about  four  miles  south-east  since  noon  we  an- 
chored in  the  roads,  in  five  fathoms  water, 
with  the  centre  of  the  town  south-east  half- 
south,  distant  about  three  miles,  and  the  ex- 
tremes of  the  Arabian  coast  from  north-east 
half-north,  to  south-west  quarter-south. 

The  afternoon  passed  without  further  com- 
munication with  the  shore  than  the  sending 
a  letter  to  the  Chief,  signifying  the  cause  of 
our  quitting  the  bay  so  suddenly,  and  an- 
nouncing our  return,  as  well  as  granting  him 
until  the  following  noon  to  prepare  his  final 
answer  to  the  original  requisitions  made. 

Dec  1st. — We  waited  throughout  the 
morning  at  our  anchorage,  in  hourly  expec- 
tation of  a  deputation  from  the  shore,  when 
at  length,  about  noon,  a  boat  appeared,  bring- 
ing some  messengers  from  Hossein  ben 
Rahma.  The  substance  of  the  answer  brought 
by  them  was  equally  as  unsatisfactory  as 
their  former  replies ;  and  they  wound  this 
up  by  saying,  that  if  the  commander  of  the 
squadron  would  receive  ambassadors  on  board 
his  ship  from  the  Chief,  and  leave  pledges 


ORDER    OF    BATTLE.  373 

for  his  conducting  them  safely  to  the  presence 
of  the  Governor  in  Bombay  to  treat  of  the 
affair  in  question,  as  well  as  for  their  safe  re- 
turn to  Ras-el-Khyma  when  such  treaty  was 
concluded,  they  should  be  sent  with  instruc- 
tions for  that  purpose  ;  but  that  if  he  refused 
this,  and  persisted  in  his  original  demand,  the 
issue  must  be  left  in  the  hands  of  Him  from 
whom  all  events  proceed,  and  what  He  had 
decreed  must  come  to  pass. 

The  messengers  were  accordingly  ordered 
to  quit  the  ship,  and  repair  with  all  possible 
haste  to  the  shore ;  it  being  signified  to 
them,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  final  an- 
swer of  their  Chief  could  be  received  in  no 
other  light  than  as  a  defiance  of  the  power 
of  the  squadron  to  enforce  our  demands,  and 
that  therefore  all  further  negotiation  was  at 
an  end. 

The  signal  was  now  made  to  weigh,  and 
stand  closer  in  towards  the  town.  It  was 
then  followed  by  the  signal  to  prepare  for 
battle,  and  shortly  afterwards  by  the  signal 
to  engage  the  enemy.  The  squadron  bore 
down  nearly  in  line,  under  easy  sail,  and  with 
the  wind  right  aft,  or  on  shore ;  the  Mercury 
being  on  the  starboard-hand,  the  Challenger 


374         COMMENCEMENT    OF    HOSTILITIES. 

n^xt  in  order  in  the  centre,  the  Vestal  fol- 
lowing in  the  same  line,  and  the  Ariel  com- 
pleting the  division.  The  north-easternmost 
dow  had  weighed  to  sail  up  along-shore,  and 
get  closer  to  the  other  three,  the  approach 
to  which  was  protected  by  the  ten-feet  bank 
or  ridge  described  as  running  along  parallel 
to  the  beach  there.  It  was  intended  that 
the  Ariel  should  have  cut  this  vessel  off;  but, 
as  the  wind  was  light,  there  was  no  approach- 
ing her  in  sufficient  time  for  that  purpose. 

A  large  fleet  of  small  boats  was  seen  stand- 
ing in  from  Cape  Mussunndom  at  the  same 
time  ;  but  these  escaped  by  keeping  still  closer 
along-shore,  and  at  length  passing  over  the 
bar  and  getting  into  the  creek  or  back-water 
behind  the  town. 

The  squadron  continued  to  stand  on  in  a 
right  line  towards  the  four  anchored  (lows, 
gradually  shoaling  from  the  depth  of  our  an- 
chorage to  two  and  a-half  fathoms,  where 
stream  anchors  were  dropped  under-foot,  with 
springs  on  the  cables,  so  that  each  vessel  lay 
with  her  broadside  directly  facing  the  shore. 
A  fire  was  now  opened  from  all  in  succession, 
the  Vestal  having  discharged  the  first  gun, 
and  these  were  all  directed  to  the  four  daws 


COMMKXCEMENT    OF    HOSTILITIES. 


375 


anchored  close  in-shore.  These  boats  were 
full  of  men,  brandishing  their  weapons  in  the 
air,  their  whole  number  exceeding  probably 
six  hundred  persons.  Some  of  the  shot  from 
the  few  long  guns  of  the  squadron  reached 
the  shore,  and  were  buried  in  the  sand ; 
others  fell  across  the  bows  and  near  the  hulls 
of  the  dows  to  which  they  were  directed; 
but  the  carronades  all  fell  short,  as  we  were 
then  fully  a  mile  from  the  beach.  The  mas- 
ter of  the  Challenger  was  now  sent  with  a 
boat  to  sound,  in  order  to  ascertain  if  it 
were  practicable  at  that  time  of  tide  to  ap- 
proach any  nearer  to  the  enemy ;  but  he 
found  the  bank  of  ten  feet  to  be  only  a  few 
yards  within  the  ship,  which  drew  fourteen. 
The  Vestal  and  Ariel,  however,  dropped  to 
within  six  inches  of  their  own  draught  of 
water;  and  in  the  Mercury  we  had  not  a 
foot  to  spare;  yet,  even  with  the  risk  of 
grounding,  our  fire  was  ineffectual ;  and  out 
of  at  least  three  hundred  shot  that  were  dis- 
charged from  the  squadron  jointly,  not  one 
of  them  seemed  to  have  done  any  execution. 

The  fire  was  returned  from  the  dows  with 
as  little  success,  all  their  shot  falling  short ; 
but  two  of  the  forts,  after  some  time  passed 


376  INSTRUCTIONS    OF    THE 

in  preparation,  at  length  opened  on  us,  and 
their  fire  was  much  more  ably  directed  than 
even  ours  had  been  :  none  of  their  shot  fell 
far  from  us  ;  and  one  of  them  carried  away 
the  Vestal's  fore-shrouds  in  its  passage,  and 
then  dropped  under  the  weather-bow. 

The  Arab  colours  were  displayed  on  all 
the  forts  ;  crowds  of  armed  men  were  assem- 
bled on  the  beach,  bearing  large  banners  on 
poles,  and  dancing  around  them  with  their 
arms,  as  if  rallying  around  a  sacred  stand- 
ard, so  that  no  sign  of  submission  or  con- 
quest was  witnessed  throughout. 

Seeing  that  all  our  efforts  were  unavailing 
from  the  ships,  and  judging  that  there  was  no 
chance  of  success  in  attempting  to  cut  these 
dows  out  with  our  boats,  though  every  boat  of 
the  squadron  had  been  hoisted  out  before  we 
left  our  first  anchorage  for  that  purpose,  the 
signal  was  made  to  weigh.  The  Ariel  con- 
tinued to  discharge  about  fifty  shot  after  all 
the  others  had  desisted,  but  with  as  little 
avail  as  before;  and  thus  ended  this  wordy 
negotiation,  and  the  bloodless  battle  to  which 
it  eventually  led. 

The  instructions  of  the  Bombay  Govern- 
ment had  ordered  that,  on  the  failure  of  the 


I 


BOMBAY    GOVERNMENT.  377 

application  for  redress,  the  squadron  should 
retire,  after  signifying  to  the  Chief,  that  he 
might  expect  the  displeasure  of  the  British 
nation  to  be  visited  on  him  in  return  for  his 
hostile  acts  against  their  flag.  Had  this  been 
strictly  complied  with,  the  Joassamees  might 
have  remained  in  a  state  of  suspense  with 
regard  to  the  capture  of  our  vessels,  agitated 
between  hope  and  fear  ;  and  time  would  have 
been  given  to  the  Bombay  Government  to 
prepare  a  more  formidable  expedition  against 
them,  without  exposing  their  vessels  to  cap- 
ture during  the  interval.  But  by  this  act  of 
open  warfare,  which  admitted  of  a  triumph 
over  our  weakness,  and  a  contempt  of  our  in- 
capacity to  accomplish  what  we  had  attempt- 
ed, all  peace  was  at  an  end,  and  the  slightly 
armed  merchant-ships  of  the  English  were 
exposed  from  this  moment  to  be  attacked  in 
their  passage ;  since  they  must  all  pass  in 
sight  from  Ras-el-Khyma,  on  entering  and 
on  departing  from  the  Gulf.  It  is  true  that 
the  destruction  of  the  four  dows  which  lay 
at  anchor  in  their  harbour  prepared  for  such 
depredations  would  have  been  a  temporary 
good,  if  it  could  have  been  effected  ;  but  even 
this  would  have  been  but  a  trifling  reduction 


378  DEPAllTURE    FROM    THE    BAY. 

of  their  blockading  force,  while  they  had,  as 
we  were  assured  from  other  quarters,  fifteen 
sail  cruising  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf,  from 
Ras-el-Had  on  the  Arabian  side,  to  Cape 
Jasks  on  the  Persian  shore ;  and  five  other 
sail  blockading  the  entrance  of  the  Bussorah 
river.  At  all  events,  it  would  have  been  wise 
to  have  first  weighed  all  the  obstacles,  so  as 
to  decide  whether  they  could  be  overcome  or 
not,  before  undertaking  what,  if  accomplished, 
would  have  been  a  very  doubtful  benefit ; 
and  what,  if  failed  in,  was  likely  to  make  the 
most  unfavourable  impressions,  and  lead  to 
very  serious  consequences  before  they  could 
be  provided  against  by  any  counteracting 
force. 

It  was  about  four  o'clock  when  we  made 
sail  from  the  bay  and  stood  out  to  sea.  We 
now  all  disarmed ;  since  every  one  in  the 
ship,  whether  passengers,  servants,  or  others, 
had  girded  on  his  weapons,  under  an  idea 
that,  as  the  boats  were  hoisted  out  to  attack, 
our  own  vessels  might  have  to  repel  an  as- 
sault in  return ;  and  that  all,  in  short,  might 
be  called  upon  to  lift  their  hands  in  defence. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  paint  the  trembling 
alarm,  the  teai*s>  and  womanish  agitation  of 


DEATH  Ol^  ONE  OF  THE  CREW. 


379 


the  two  Persian  Secretaries  of  the  English 
Resident  on  this  occasion.  Colonel  Corsellis 
and  myself  had  succeeded  in  animating  all 
the  rest,  however,  by  our  example ;  and  Mr. 
Bruce  and  Mr.  Taylor,  who  had  gone  on 
board  the  Challenger  before  the  bombarding 
commenced,  had  taken  the  Arab  MoUah  and 
the  Bahrein  pilot  with  them. 

At  sun-set  the  crew  were  summoned  by 
the  tolling  of  the  ship's  bell  to  attend  the 
funeral  service  of  one  of  their  shipmates. 
This  was  an  European,  who  had  been  somes 
time  in  a  state  of  great  weakness;  and,  on 
hearing  of  the  preparation  for  battle,  was  so 
inuch  agitated  by  the  discharge  of  the  first 
gun,  that  he  fell  back  and  expired.  The  sim- 
plicity with  which  this  solemn  service  was 
performed,  and  the  devout  attention  with 
which  it  was  witnessed  by  the  sailors,  who 
but  an  hour  before  were  lost  in  one  roar  of 
blasphemy  and  imprecation,  was  particularly 
impressive  ;  though,  like  the  track  which  their 
vessel  ploughs  so  deeply  on  the  ocean,  it  was 
in  a  moment  afterwards  forgotten  and  ef- 
faced. 

Dec  2d. — The  squadron  had  continued  tOr* 
gether  during  the  night,  on  their  way  to  Shar- 


S80  SOUNDINGS. 

jee,  where  demands  similar  to  those  which  had 
been  already  refused  at  Ras-el-Khyma  were 
to  be  mad6.  This  town  was  known  to  bear 
about  south-west  from  our  point  of  departure 
from  the  latter,  at  the  distance  of  forty  miles  ; 
but  from  an  unnecessary  fear  of  approaching 
the  shore,  the  squadron  had  all  steered  out 
west-south-west,  after  the  example  of  the 
Commodore ;  in  consequence  of  which,  we  had 
no  land  in  sight  when  daylight  appeared. 

In  leaving  our  inner  anchorage  at  Ras-el- 
Khyma,  and  steering  west-south-west  to  the 
offing,  our  soundings  were  by  no  means  so 
regular  as  in  the  course  of  our  approach  from 
the  outer  anchorage  to  the  shore  had  been. 
We  first  gradually  deepened  to  three  and  a 
half  fathoms,  and  had  then  four  and  four  and 
a  half  at  a  cast,  returning  again  to  three,  and 
immediately  deepening  to  five,  which  proved 
the  existence  of  overfalls,  or  ridges  and  banks, 
in  the  bottom.  Beyond  ten  fathoms,  we 
deepened  more  regularly  to  twelve,  thir- 
teen, fifteen,  seventeen,  eighteen,  twenty,  and 
twenty-oije,  at  intervals  of  an  hour  between 
sun-set  and  midnight ;  and  then  shoaled 
again  to  twenty,  eighteen,  seventeen  and  a 
half,  seventeen,  and  sixteen  and  a  half,  ia 


DISPATCHES    TO    BOMBAY.  381 

hourly  intervals  from  midnight  until  sun-rise, 
without  once  altering  our  course  from  west- 
south-west,  and  having  gone  on  an  average  of 
three  knots  per  hour,  or  about  forty  miles  by 
the  log,  during  the  whole  run.  The  land- 
breeze  dying  away  at  an  early  hour,  we  all 
lay  becalmed ;  and,  from  inattention  and  bad 
steerage,  were  so  widely  separated  from  each 
other,  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  distinguish  any 
signals  made.  The  Commodore,  growing  im- 
patient of  this  delay,  sent  his  boat  from  a  dis-^ 
tance  of  at  least  three  rhiles,  in  the  calm,  to 
communicate  his  intention  of  sending  oif  the 
Vestal  from  hence  to  Bombay  with  dispatches 
relative  to  the  issue  of  the  negotiation  at  Ras- 
el-Khyma,  and  to  desire  Mr.  Bruce  to  pre- 
pare for  that  purpose  with  all  possible  speed. 
This,  indeed,  was  a  measure  which  ought  to 
have  been  done  in  the  opinion  of  all,  except 
the  immediate  leaders  themselves,  on  the  first 
day  of  our  anchoring  at  Ras-el-Khyma,  when 
the  ship  to  be  dispatched  would  have  gone 
off  with  a  fine  north-west  gale,  which,  by  carry- 
ing her  straight  into  the  regular  monsoon  of 
the  season,  would  have  ensured  her  passage  to 
Bombay  in  six  or  seven  days.  She  had  been 
led  about,  however,  from  Ras-el-Khyma  to 


382  DISPATCHES    TO    BOMBAY. 

Angar,  and  from  Angar  to  Ras-el-Khyma 
again,  without  either  necessity  or  advantage ; 
and  even  now  had  again  been  taken  fifty 
miles  on  an  opposite  course  to  that  of  her  des- 
tination ;  during  all  which  delay,  the  north- 
west gale,  and  with  it  the  chance  of  a  quick 
passage,  had  ceased,  and  the  prospect  now 
before  them  was  that  of  a  long  and  tedious 
voyage.  This  was  an  evil  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance ;  for,  as  the  Government  of  Bombay 
had  expressed  its  intentions  of  preparing  and 
assembling  forces  for  an  expedition  into  the 
Persian  Gulf,  its  departure  would  depend  en- 
tirely on  the  advices  received  as  to  the  result 
of  the  present  negotiation  ;  and  the  season  of 
the  fair  weather  monsoon  being  now  far  ad- 
vanced, the  delay  of  a  fortnight  would  render 
it  too  late  to  embark  them  during  the  present 
season,  the  loss  of  which  season  would  oc- 
casion a  suspension  of  all  operations  for  at 
least  six  months. 

At  noon  we  observed  in  lat.  £5^  22'  north, 
and  were  in  long.  54^  48'  east,  still  calm,  iti 
fifteen  fathoms  water,  and  no  land  yet  in  sight 
in  the  point  of  bearing  to  which  the  squadron 
were  directed,  though  the  high  land  of  Ras- 
el-Khyma  and  the  island  of  Bomosa  were  still 


SEPARATION    OF    THE    SQUADRON.  383 

visible.  The  signal  being  made  for  command- 
ers to  visit  the  Commodore,  preparatory  to 
our  parting  company,  Colonel  Corsellis  and 
myself,  who  had  been  promised  a  passage  to 
Bombay  in  whichever  vessel  might  be  first 
dispatched,  were  transferred  from  the  Mer- 
cury to  the  Vestal,  and  soon  after  this  the 
squadron  separated, — the  Mercury  and  Ariel 
to  go  to  Sharjee,  Linga,  and  Charrack,  for 
negotiations  similar  to  those  entered  into  at 
Ras-el-Khyma ;  ourselves,  to  Bombay ;  and 
the  Challenger  to  convoy  us  clear  of  the  Gulf, 
and  from  thence  proceed  to  Muscat  to  give 
information  of  hostilities,  and  afford  protec- 
tion to  vessels  bound  upward  from  thence. 

It  was  about  four  o'clock  when  the  colours 
were  hauled  down,  as  we  made  sail :  we  then 
steered  out  to  the  eastward,  with  the  sea- 
breeze  setting  in  at  north,  and  gradually 
came  up  hourly  to  north-north-east  at  mid- 
night, having  gone  about  thirty-two  miles, 
and  deepened  our  water  hourly  to  twelve, 
twelve  and  a  half,  thirteen,  fourteen,  fifteen, 
sixteen,  seventeen,  and  eighteen  fathoms,  al- 
ways on  a  sandy  bottom. 

Dec.  8rd. — The  wind  having  drawn  round 
progressively  to  the  north-west,  we  steered 


384  THE    QUOINS. 

from  midnight  to  sun-rise  a  course  of  north- 
north-east,  making  a  distance  of  thirty  miles, 
deepening  our  water  on  the  whole  to  forty- 
three  fathoms,  on  a  soft  bottom,  and  then 
having  the  extremes  of  the  Arabian  land  to 
bear  from  east  by  north  to  south-south-east, 
with  the  high  land  of  Gomberoon  north- 
east. The  wind  now  became  light  and  va- 
riable, and  at  ten  a.m,  it  freshened  up  from 
the  south-south-east,  drawing  round  souther- 
ly, and  settling  at  last  at  south-west. 

At  noon  we  observed  in  lat.  26^  \T  north, 
and  were  in  long.  bQ^  8'  east,  the  island  of 
the  Great  Quoin  bearing  east-north-east  half- 
east,  and  the  extremes  of  the  Arabian  land 
from  east  half-north  to  south  half -west. 
The  south-west  wind  continuing  fresh  and 
fair,  we  stood  on  to  the  eastward,  with  all 
sail,  going  nearly  eight  knots.  At  one  p.m, 
the  islands  called  the  Quoins  became  visible 
from  the  deck,  and  at  three  p.m.  we  saw 
through  the  passage  between  them  and  Cape 
Mussunndom.  The  Quoins  are  two  small 
islands,  or  masses  of  rocks,  high,  barren,  and 
presenting  cliffs  on  all  sides,  so  as  seemingly 
to  preclude  landing  on  any  part  of  them  ; 
they  are  consequently  uninhabited,  and  per- 


CAPE    MUSSUNNDOM.  385 

haps  as  yet  untrodden  by  human  foot.  These 
islands  are  less  than  a  league  distant  from 
each  other,  but  have  a  clear  passage  of  twenty 
fathoms  between  them,  which  is  never  how- 
ever attempted  but  in  cases  of  the  most 
urgent  necessity,  from  the  probability  of  ir- 
regular blasts  of  wind,  eddy  currents,  and 
the  forbidding  aspect  of  their  clijffy  shores- 
They  lie  abou4  three  leagues  to  the  north- 
north-east  of  Cape  Mussunndom,  and  afford 
a  clear  passage  of  fifty  fathoms  between  ; 
though  even  this,  broad  as  it  is,  is  seldom  run 
through  but  with  a  steady  leading  wind,  to 
secure  success. 

Cape  Mussunndom,  erroneously  called 
Mussledom  in  most  charts,  is  itself  composed 
of  a  cluster  of  high  and  rugged  islands,  com- 
pletely barren,  with  steep  cliffs  on  all  sides, 
and  seemingly  rent  from  each  other  by  some 
great  concussion  of  nature,  which  tore  them 
in  separate  masses  from  the  high  promon- 
tory of  the  continent  behind  them.  Between 
all  of  these,  it  is  probable  that  there  are 
passages  of  deep  water  ;  but  as  a  necessity  of 
navigating  through  them  could  hardly  ever 
exist  for  large  ships,  so  the  attempt  would 
be  imprudent  in  the  extreme ;  since  hidden 

VOL.  II.  2    c 


386  CAPE    MUSSUNNDOM. 

rocks  and  violent  currents  might  be  expected 
there,  as  well  as  sudden  gusts  through  the 
chasms  which  the  channels  of  the  islands 
form. 

The  actual  point  of  this  Cape  is  extremely 
difficult  to  fix  with  precision  ;  for,  opposite 
the  termination  of  the  promontory  of  the 
continent  are  several  broken  islands,  all  of 
them  high,  steep,  and  barren,  and,  by  the 
abrupt  chasms  that  appear  between  them, 
they  seem  to  have  been  separated  both  from 
the  main  land,  and  from  each  other,  by  some 
violent  convulsion  of  nature.  The  water  is 
known  to  be  of  great  depth  all  around  and 
between  these  islands;  and  this  circumstance, 
with  the  narrowness  of  the  channels,  occa- 
sions continual  eddies,  which  are  dangerous 
to  ships  passing  near  them.  An  instance  is 
mentioned  of  an  English  ship  of  war  an- 
choring in  upwards  of  one  hundred  fathoms 
water  in  a  calm,  to  prevent  being  driven  on 
the  rocks ;  and  this  was  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  cliffs. 

This  promontory  is  unquestionably  the  Ma- 
keta  of  Nearchus,  seen  by  him  from  the  op- 
posite coast  of  Persia,  and  estimated  at  a 
day's  sail  in  distance  ;    and  the  information 


CAPE    MUSSUNNDOM.  387 

given  to  him  by  those  acquainted  with  the 
country,  that  this  vast  promontory  was  a  part 
of  Arabia,  and  that  from  the  ports  in  its 
neighbourhood  spices  were  exported  to  As- 
syria, proves  the  existence  of  a  very  ancient 
commerce  between  the  Arabs  of  these  parts 
and  India,  from  which  such  spices  must  have 
been  brought  *  It  is  no  doubt  also  the 
same  cape  which  is  named  Mount  Pasabo  by 
Marcian,  and  Asabo  by  Ptolemy,  who  calls 
the  range,  of  which  this  is  the  termination, 
the  Black  Mountains ;  but  I  cannot  help 
thinking  the  construction  a  forced  one, 
which  makes  the  combination  of  these  names 
to  mean  the  Black  Mountains  of  the  South, 
from  a  supposed  affinity  between  Asaba  and 
the  Arabic  word  Asswad,  black,  as  suggested 
by  Sir  Harford  Jones.  Dr.  Vincent's  inter- 
pretation of  Sabo,  as  sometimes  signifying 
the  south,  is  more  happy  ;  but  even  then,  it 
would  be  only  to  the  very  northernmost  Arabs 
that  this  relative  term  would  be  a  just  one  ; 
for,  to  all  the  Arabs  of  the  coast  of  Yemen, 
Hadramaut,  &c.  who,  as  navigators,  were 
likely  to  have  fixed  the  name,  these  moun- 
tains would  be  in  fact  northern  ones. 

*  Vincent's  Nearchns,  vol.  i.  p.  51. 

'2  c  2 


388  RAS-MOBARACK. 

The  proper  name  of  the  Cape,  as  pro- 
nounced by  all  the  Arabs  of  these  parts,  is 
Ras-el-Mussunndom  ;  so  that  the  other  con- 
jecture of  Sir  Harford  Jones,  as  supposing 
this  name  to  be  a  corruption  of  Ma-Salaum, 
or  Cape  Safety,  is  not  more  happy  than  his 
former  one.  The  ceremony  which  he  de- 
scribes, as  performed  by  the  Lascars  or  coun- 
try sailors  of  vessels  coming  into  the  Gulf,  I 
have  never  witnessed ;  nor  could  I,  after  all 
my  enquiries,  learn  that  such  a  custom  ex- 
isted ;  so  that  the  conjecture  as  to  the  name, 
and  the  reason  adduced  in  support  of  it, 
seem  to  rest  on  equally  frail  grounds.* 

The  distance  from  Cape  Mussunndom  to 
the  opposite  point  of  Ras-Mobarack,  or  the 
'  Blessed  Cape,'  on  the  Persian  shore,  is  about 
ten  leagues  ;  so  that  the  entrance  of  the 
Gulf  is  sufficiently  broad  for  all  the  purposes 
of  navigation  ;  and  the  land,  being  high,  is 
distinctly  visible  on  both  sides  at  once,  from 
any  part  of  the  channel.  This  Ras  Mobarack, 
or  Bombarrack,  as  it  is  called,  though  placed 
in  its  right  position  by  M'Cluer,  is  thrown 
down  near  Cape  Jaskes  by  Arrowsmith,  with«- 

*  See  Vincent's  Dissertation,  vol.  i.  p.  3!?1. 


PROGRESS    TO    MUSCAT.  389 

out  any  statement  of  authorities  for  the 
alteration. 

The  wind  drew  round  from  the  south-west 
again  to  south,  and,  blowing  thus  right  into 
the  Gulf,  obliged  us  to  tack,  and  try  to  beat 
in  mid-channel,  in  which  we  were  slightly 
favoured  by  a  current  still  setting  outward, 
as  the  effect  of  the  last  north-west  gale. 

At  sun-set  we  had  the  visible  extremes 
of  the  Arabian  land  bearing  from  west-north- 
west to  south-west  by  south ;  the  island 
of  the  Great  Quoin  north-west  half-north  ; 
the  island  of  the  Little  Quoin  north-west 
half-north  ;  and  the  outermost  island  of  the 
Cape,  which  is  generally  called  Mussledom 
Island,  north-west  by  west  half-west ;  with 
the  visible  extremes  of  the  Persian  land 
from  north-west  by  north  to  south-east. 
Our  soundings  having  now  ceased  to  be  a 
guide,  as  we  had  no  bottom  at  fifty  fathoms, 
the  lead  was  discontinued,  and  we  still  beat 
to  windward  until  midnight. 

Dec.  4th. — During  the  early  part  of  the 
morning  it  was  calm,  and  this  was  succeeded 
just  before  daylight  by  light  breezes,  vary- 
ing from  west-north-west  to  east,  or  nearly 


390  PllOGllESS    TO    MUSCAT. 

all  round  the  compass,  having  at  sun-rise  the 
extremes  of  the  Arabian  shore  from  north  by 
west  half-west  to  south-south-west  half-west, 
and  a  portion  of  the  Persian  land  south- 
south-east. 

At  noon  we  were  again  becalmed,  and 
observed  in  lat.  25^  48^  north,  long.  56®  42' 
east,  the  Arabian  land  bearing  from  north- 
west to  south-west  by  south. 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  afterwards,  a 
strong  breeze  freshened  up  from  the  south- 
west, which  obliged  us  to  double-reef  the 
top-sails,  and  send  down  royal  yards  and 
masts,  the  ship  going  eight  knots  on  a  bow- 
line, steering  a  south-south-east  course,  and 
close-hauled  to  the  wind.  This  continued 
until  sun-set,  when  the  only  visible  land  was 
a  part  of  the  Arabian  coast,  bearing  west- 
south-west  ;  and  at  midnight  we  were  steer- 
ing a  point  off,  with  the  same  breeze,  and 
going  nine  knots  free. 

Dec  5th. — The  wind  had  drawn  round  to 
the  westward  after  midnight,  and  gradually 
passed  it  to  north-west  by  north  at  sunrise, 
going  eight  knots  throughout  on  a  south-east 
course,  the  high  land  of  Arabia  then  bearing 


APPROACH    MUSCAT.  391 

from  south-south-east  to  south-south-west, 
very  distant.  At  noon,  however,  we  ap- 
proached Muscat,  the  principal  port  of  the 
Arabian  Sea,  where  it  was  intended  we  should 
separate,  leaving  the  Commodore  to  return 
to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  proceeding  our- 
selves to  Bombay. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HARBOUR  AND  TOWN  OF  MUSCAT,^  AND  VOY- 
AGE FROM  THENCE  TO  BOMBAY. 

The  harbour  of  Muscat,  which  lies  in  lati- 
tude 23°  38'  north,  and  longitude  59°  15'  east, 
is  formed  by  a  small  cove,  or  semicircular 
bay,  environed  on  all  sides,  except  at  its  en- 
trance, by  lofty,  steep,  and  barren  rocks,  and 
extending  not  more  than  half  a  mile  in 
length  from  the  town,  at  the  head  of  the 
cove,  to  the  outer  anchorage,  in  the  mouth  of 

*  A  small  portion  of  this  description  of  Muscat  has  ap- 
peared in  one  of  the  new  Annuals  for  1829,  '  The  Friendship's 
Offering-,'  it  being  furnished  by  me  at  the  request  of  its  editor, 
Mr.  Pringle,  to  accompany  the  View  of  Muscat,  engraved  by 
Jeavons,  from  a  painting  by  Witherington,  after  a  sketch  of 
Colonel  Johnson,  of  the  Bombay  Engineers ;  of  which  the  ac- 
companying vignette  is  a  faithful  copy. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


HARBOUR,  TOWN,  AND  FORTIFICATIONS  OF  MUSCAT. 


VOL.    II. 

Published  bj  Henry  Colburn,  8  New  Burlington  Street.    Jan.  1, 1829. 


^ 


HARBOUR    OF    MUSCAT.  393 

it ;  and  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
breadth  from  fort  to  fort,  which  guards  the 
entrance  on  the  east  and  west.  The  entrance 
to  this  cove  is  from  the  northward,  and  the 
water  deep,  shoaling  quickly  from  thirty  to 
fifteen  fathoms  at  the  cove's  mouth.  Ships 
entering  it  from  the  northward,  with  a  fair 
wind,  should  go  no  farther  in  than  ten  fa- 
thoms before  anchoring,  as  the  ground  does 
not  hold  well ;  and  within  this,  there  is  but 
little  room  to  drive.  In  entering  it  from  the 
west,  with  a  southerly  wind,  a  ship  should 
keep  close  to  the  small  rock,  called  Fisher- 
man's Rock,  at  the  north-east  point  of  Mus- 
cat Island,  as  there  is  deep  water  all  along 
its  edge ;  and  on  opening  the  ships  in  the 
harbour,  it  would  be  necessary  to  brace  sharp 
up,  and  luff  round  close  to  the  wind,  under 
short  sail,  as  the  wind  is  often  squally  in 
coming  over  the  high  land  from  that  quarter ; 
and  as  there  is  not  an  inch  of  room  to  lose 
in  fetching  the  anchorage,  without  tacking 
from  the  harbour's  mouth,  ships  of  war,  and 
vessels  making  but  a  short  stay  here,  usually 
lie  well  out,  in  fifteen  to  twenty  fathoms 
water,  with  Fisherman's  Rock  open  on  the 
east,  and  the  town  of  Muttrah  open  on  the 


394  TOWN    OF    MUSCAT. 

west ;  but  this  would  be  neither  safe  nor  con- 
venient for  merchant-ships  having  to  receive 
or  discharge  cargo.  These  therefore  gene- 
rally lie  farther  up  towards  the  town,  in  the 
bight  between  it  and  the  westernmost  fort, 
where  they  moor  head  and  stern,  or  in  tiers, 
in  three,  four,  and  five  fathoms  water.  There 
is  another  middle  anchorage,  well  calculated 
for  vessels  wishing  to  make  a  stay  of  a  few 
days,  which  is  sufficiently  secure,  and  yet 
leaves  them  always  in  readiness  to  weigh 
for  sea.  This  is  between  the  eastern  and 
western  forts,  and  nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  harbour,  in  six,  seven,  and  eight  fa- 
thoms water;  and  is  the  spot  in  which  the 
Imaum's  frigates  and  other  large  ships  ge- 
nerally anchor. 

The  town  of  Muscat  is  seated  near  the 
shore,  at  the  bottom  of  the  hills,  and  in  the 
south-western  quarter  of  the  cove  described. 
It  is  of  an  irregular  form,  and  meanly  built, 
having  apparently  no  good  edifices  in  it,  ex- 
cepting the  residence  of  the  Imaum,  and  a 
few  of  his  nearest  relatives,  and  others  hold- 
ing the  first  posts  of  government.  It  is  walled 
around,  with  some  few  round  towers  at  the 


TOWN    OF    MUSCAT.  395 

principal  angles,  after  the  Arabian  manner ; 
but  this  is  only  towards  the  land-side,  the 
part  facing  the  sea  being  entirely  open.  Be- 
fore this  wall,  towards  the  land,  was  originally 
a  dry  ditch,  but  it  is  now  nearly  filled  up, 
and  this  side  may  in  all  respects  be  con- 
sidered its  weakest  one.  For  its  defence,  to- 
wards the  sea,  there  are  three  principal  forts 
and  some  smaller  batteries,  all  occupying 
commanding  positions,  and  capable  of  op- 
posing the  entrance  into  the  harbour  even 
of  the  largest  ships.  The  walled  town  is 
certainly  less  than  a  mile  in  circuit ;  but 
the  streets  being  narrow,  and  the  dwellings 
thickly  placed,  without  much  room  being  oc- 
cupied by  open  squares,  courts,  or  gardens, 
the  estimated  population  of  ten  thousand, 
given,  as  they  say  here,  by  a  late  census  of 
the  fixed  inhabitants,  may  not  exceed  the 
truth.  Of  these,  about  nine-tenths  are  pure 
Arabs  and  Mohammedans  ;  the  remainder  are 
principally  Banians  and  other  Hindoos  from 
Guzerat  and  Bombay,  who  reside  here  as 
brokers  and  general  traders,  and  are  treated 
with  great  lenity  and  tolerance.  There  are 
only  three  or  four  Jews,  and  no  Christians 


396  SUBURB    OF    MUSCAT., 

of  any  description,  resident  in  the  place ; 
though,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  there  was  no 
law  or  custom  that  excluded  any  class. 

Besides  this  walled  town,  there  is  an  ex- 
tensive suburb  without  or  behind  it,  formed 
of  the  dwellings  of  the  poorer  class  of  people, 
who  live  in  huts  of  reed,  and  cabins  made  of 
the  branches  of  trees  interwoven  with  mats 
of  grass,  in  the  same  way  as  at  Mocha,  Jedda, 
Hodeida,  and  the  other  large  towns  on  the 
western  side  of  Arabia  on  the  Red  Sea.  The 
population  of  this  suburb  may  amount  to 
three  thousand,  a  portion  of  whom  are  by 
origin,  Persians,  and  settlers  from  the  oppo- 
site coasts  near  the  mouth  of  the  Gulf 

The  Government  of  Muscat  is  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  Imaum.  The  power  of  this 
Prince  extends,  at  the  present  moment,  from 
Ras-el-Had,  on  the  south-east,  to  Khore  Fa- 
kan,  near  Ras-el-Mussunndom,  on  the  north- 
west ;  and  from  the  sea-shore  on  the  north- 
east, to  from  three  to  six  days'  journeys  in- 
land on  the  south-west.  The  whole  of  this 
territory  is  called  ^Ul  Aman,"^  implying  the 
land  of  safety  or  security,  as  contrasted  with 
the  uncivilized  and  unsafe  countries  by  which 
it  is  bounded.     On  the  north,  as  before  ob- 


TERllITORY    OF    A  MAN.  397 

served,  it  has  the  sea  ;  on  the  south,  are  the 
Arabs  of  Mazeira^  who  are  described  as  a 
cruel  and  inhospitable  race,  and  whose  shores 
are  as  much  avoided,  from  a  dread  of  fall- 
ing into  the  hands  of  such  a  people,  as  from 
the  real  dangers  which  it  presents  to  those 
who  coast  along  it.  On  the  east,  the  sea  also 
forms  its  boundary ;  and  on  the  west  are 
several  hostile  tribes  of  Bedouins,  who  dis- 
pute among  themselves  the  watering-places 
and  pasturage  of  the  Desert,  and  sometimes 
threaten  the  borders  of  the  cultivated  land. 
The  southernmost  of  these  unite  with  those 
of  Mazeira,  and  still  retain  their  original  in- 
difference to  religion  ;  but  the  northernmost 
are  by  degrees  uniting  with  the  Wahabees  i 
and  being  infected,  as  soon  as  they  join  them, 
with  the  fanaticism  of  that  sect,  they  are  daily 
augmenting  the  number  of  the  Imaum's  ene- 
mies, and  even  now  give  him  no  small  degree 
of  apprehension  for  the  safety  of  his  north- 
ern frontier. 

Throughout  this  space,  thus  distinguished 
by  the  name  of  Aman,  and  which  is  some- 
what more  extensive  now  than  it  was  under 
the  predecessors  of  the  present  governor, 
are  scattered  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets,  in 


398  DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

great  abundance.  The  face  of  the  country  is 
generally  mountainous  within-land,  and  the 
mountains  are  in  general  rugged  and  bare ; 
but,  as  they  are  very  lofty,  the  dews,  of 
which  they  facilitate  the  fall,  and  the  clouds 
which  they  arrest,  give  a  mild  and  agreeable 
temperature  to  the  air  that  blows  around 
them,  and  causing  showers  to  wash  down  the 
decomposed  surface  of  the  rocks  they  add  to 
the  soil  of  the  valleys,  and  occasion  also  rills 
and  torrents  to  fertilize  them.  In  these  val- 
leys are  corn-lands,  fruit-gardens,  and  ex- 
cellent pasturage  for  cattle ;  and  some  of 
the  country  residences  of  the  rich  inhabit- 
ants, whose  situations  have  been  judiciously 
chosen  in  the  most  agreeable  of  these  fertile 
spots,  combine  great  picturesque  beauty,  with 
the  desirable  enjoyments  of  shady  woods, 
springs  of  pure  water,  and  a  cool  and  healthy 
air.  .  The  land  near  the  sea-coast  mostly 
extends  itself  out  from  the  feet  of  the  moun- 
tains in  plains,  which  are  but  scantily  wa- 
tered by  a  few  small  streams  descending 
through  them  to  the  sea,  but  which  pro- 
duce nevertheless  an  abundance  of  dates, 
nourish  innumerable  flocks  of  sheep,  goats, 
and   camels,  and   are    lined  all  along  their 


REVENUES    OF    THE    IMAUM.  399 

outer  edge  by  small  fishing-towns,  which  give 
occupation  to  one  part  of  the  population,  and 
furnish  seasonable  supplies  of  food  to  the 
other. 

The  revenues  of  the  Imaum  of  Muscat 
are  derived  chiefly  from  the  commerce  of  the 
port.  There  are  no  taxes  levied  either  on 
land  or  on  cattle  throughout  all  his  do- 
minions ;  and  corn  and  dates,  the  only  two 
productions  of  the  soil  which  are  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  deserve  the  notice  of  the  Go- 
vernment, pay  a  tithe  in  kind.  The  duties 
on  commerce  are  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem, 
paid  by  strangers  of  every  denomination ; 
and  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  by  Arabs  and 
other  Mohammedan  flags,  on  all  goods 
brought  into  the  port.  As  the  country  ex- 
ports but  little  of  its  own  productions,  and 
these  are  duty  free,  it  may  be  said  that  there 
is  no  export  duty  here ;  since  transit  goods, 
having  once  paid  it  on  their  importation, 
pay  nothing  more,  whether  consumed  in  the 
country,  or  exported  from  hence  to  any  other 
market.  As  far  as  my  enquiries  went,  it  ap- 
peared to  be  the  general  opinion,  that  the 
revenues  of  the  Imaum,  from  the  produc- 
tions of  his   own  country,  did  not  exceed  a 


400  FOREIGN    TRADE    OF    MUSCAT. 

lack  of  rupees  per  annum  ;  while  that  col- 
lected by  the  Custom-house  of  the  port,  on 
foreign  commerce,  amounted  to  at  least 
twenty  lacks,  or,  as  my  informant  said,  ten 
hundred  thousand  German  crowns,  estimated 
in  round  numbers. 

During  the  lifetime  of  the  present  Imaum's 
father,  or  about  twenty  years  since,  the  fo- 
reign trade  of  Muscat,  in  its  own  vessels,  was 
much  more  considerable ;  and  the  number 
of  ships,  under  other  flags,  resorting  to  its 
port,  much  greater  than  at  present.  They 
were  then  the  carriers  of  India,  under  a  neu- 
tral flag,  as  the  Dutch  were  once,  and  after 
them  the  Americans,  in  Europe.  The  wealth 
which  their  merchants  acquired  from  the  high 
freights  given  to  their  vessels,  both  by  the 
English  and  the  French,  in  the  time  when 
the  Indian  Sea  was  a  theatre  of  naval  war, 
enabled  them  to  purchase  largely  of  the  prize 
goods  which  were  then  to  be  found  in  the 
ports  of  both  these  nations  at  a  very  low  rate, 
and  to  carry  them  in  their  own  vessels  with 
security  to  every  part  of  the  Eastern  Islands, 
the  coasts  of  Pegu,  and  the  ports  of  the  Ara- 
bian and  Persian  Gulfs,  where  their  profits 
were  immense.     Their  own  port  too,  being 


FOREIGN    TRADE    OF    MUSCAT. 


401 


made,  like  Malta  in  the  Mediterranean,  a 
magazine  or  depot  of  general  merchandize, 
the  smaller  vessels  of  all  the  surrounding 
nations  who  could  not  procure  these  goods 
from  the  English  or  French  settlements  di- 
rect, came  and  bought  them  here,  so  that 
the  port  was  always  crowded  with  shipping. 
The  trade  of  Muscat  is  at  present  confined 
to  about  twenty  sail  of  ships  under  the  Arab 
flag,  properly  belonging  to  the  port,  and 
forty  or  fifty  bughelas  and  dows.  The  for- 
mer, which  vary  in  size  from  three  hundred 
to  six  hundred  tons,  are  employed  in  voyages 
to  Bengal,  from  which  they  bring  muslins 
and  piece-goods  ;  to  the  Eastern  Islands,  for 
drugs  and  spices  ;  to  the  coast  of  Malabar, 
for  ship-timber,  rice,  and  pepper  ;  to  Bombay, 
for  European  articles,  principally  the  coarser 
metals,  lead,  iron,  and  tin,  and  for  the  pro- 
ductions and  manufactures  of  China,  into 
the  ports  of  which  country  their  flag  is  not 
admitted ;  and  lastly,  to  the  Mauritius,  for 
coffee  and  cotton  in  small  quantities,  return- 
ing by  way  of  Zanzebar  on  the  African  coast, 
where  they  have  a  settlement,  in  which  is 
collected  gold  dust,  ostrich  feathers,  tama- 
rinds,   elephants'    teeth,   and  slaves.     Their 

VOL.  II.  2d 


402  FOREIGN    TRADE    OF    MUSCAT. 

dows  or  smaller  vessels  carry  assortments  of 
all  these  goods  to  Bussorah,  Bushire,  and 
Bahrein,  from  which  they  bring  down  dates, 
pearls,  and  dollars,  with  some  little  copper  ; 
to  the  coasts  of  Sind  and  Baloochistan,  from 
which  they  bring  in  return  the  commodities 
of  more  distant  countries,  met  with  at  Mecca 
during  the  great  fair  of  the  Pilgrimage ; 
and  to  Mocha,  from  whence  they  bring  the 
coffee  of  Yemen,  the  gums  of  Socotra  and 
the  Samauli  coast,  and  both  male  and  female 
slaves  of  Abyssinia  in  great  numbers.  The 
interruption  of  the  navigation  of  these  seas 
by  the  Joassamee  pirates  of  Ras-el-Khyma 
has,  for  the  present,  almost  suspended  the 
coasting  trade  of  the  smaller  vessels  of 
Muscat,  and  even  their  larger  ones  are  not 
always  safe  from  them.  This  had  given  em- 
ployment, until  lately,  to  several  vessels  un- 
der English  colours,  principally  from  Bom- 
bay, who  were  employed  by  the  merchants 
of  Muscat  at  advantageous  freights ;  but 
the  late  visit  of  the  squadron  under  his 
Majesty's  Ship  Challenger  to  Ras-el-Khyma, 
and  the  open  declaration  of  hostilities  against 
them,  having  taken  away  the  idea  of  protec- 
tion from  neutrality,  which  these  merchants 


FOREIGN   TRADE    OF    MUSCAT.  403 

attached  to  the  English  flag,  it  is  no  longer 
resorted  to  as  a  cover  for  their  property; 
and  the  trader  is  cramped  and  fettered  by 
the  necessity  of  arming  every  vessel,  at  an 
enormous  charge,  for  her  own  defence,  or 
submitting  to  the  delays  and  vexations  of 
convoy,  which  the  British  ships  of  war  and 
East  India  Company's  cruisers  now  grant  to 
all  vessels  trading  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  As 
the  remittances  from  this  place  to  India  are 
made  chiefly  in  treasure,  such  as  gold  se- 
quins, dollars,  German  crowns,  and  pearls ; 
and  as  all  these  pay  a  freight  of  two  per 
cent,  and  are  allowed  to  be  conveyed  by  his 
Majesty's  as  well  as  the  East  India  Com- 
pany's vessels  of  war,  these  never  fail  of 
touching  at  Muscat,  in  their  way,  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  such  freight ;  and  the 
King's  ships  being  naturally  preferred,  from 
their  superior  force,  for  the  safety  of  such 
conveyance,  the  emoluments  of  their  com- 
manders, from  this  source,  are  very  consi- 
derable, and  reconcile  them  to  all  the  other 
inconveniences  of  being  stationed  in  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  Here,  as  at  Mocha,  the  German 
crown  is  more  commonly  met  with  than 
the  Spanish   dollar.     The   former   is  called 

2u  2 


404       REVENUES  OF  THE  IMAUM. 

Rial  France,  and  the  latter  Abu  Tope,  or  Fa- 
ther Gun,  from  the  pillars  of  the  Spanish 
arms  being  thought  to  represent  cannon. 
The  German  crown  now  passes  current  here 
for  twenty-one  Mohammedies,  a  small  coin 
of  Muscat ;  and  the  exchange  on  Bombay 
was  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  and  twelve 
rupees  for  one  hundred  German  crowns,  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  rupees  for  the 
Spanish  dollar.  The  Venetian  sequin  in 
gold  is  valued,  when  at  full  weight,  at  two 
and  a  quarter  German  crowns ;  all  coins, 
however,  receive  their  value  in  metal  from 
the  Sheraufs,  or  money-changers,  who  are 
chiefly  Banians,  and  are  very  numerous  here, 
as  large  profits  are  made  by  them  in  trans- 
actions and  exchanges  of  money. 

Out  of  the  revenues  which  the  Imaum 
receives  on  the  productions  of  his  own  coun- 
try, and  on  foreign  trade,  the  expenses  of  his 
government  are  defrayed ;  but  these  are  so 
light  as  to  leave  him  in  possession  of  consi- 
derable personal  wealth.  Were  it  not  for 
the  interruption  of  the  trade,  and  conse- 
quently of  the  source  of  these  gains,  the  trea- 
sures in  his  coffers  must  have  been  immense ; 
but  at  the  same  time  that  his  revenues  have 


GOVERNMENT    OF    MUSCAT.  405 

been  recently  lessened,  the  expenses  of  his 
government  have  been  increased,  and  that 
too  from  the  same  cause.  The  growing 
power  of  the  Joassamees  by  sea  might  have 
been  checked  by  the  arming  the  merchant- 
ships  of  Muscat  in  their  own  defence,  and  by 
the  cruising  of  the  frigates  and  sloops  of  war 
under  the  Imaum's  flag  in  the  Gulf,  even 
without  the  assistance  of  the  English  squa- 
dron of  the  King's  and  Company's  ships 
cruising  there.  But  the  Wahabees,  of  whom 
the  Joassamees  are  but  the  maritime  por- 
tion, threaten  the  dominions  of  the  Imaum 
still  more  formidably  by  land.  To  repel 
them  from  his  frontier,  the  deserts  border- 
ing on  which  are  in  actual  possession  of 
these  sectaries  and  the  tribes  lately  become 
their  proselytes,  it  is  found  necessary  to 
keep  up  a  large  moving  force.  Among  the 
Arabs  there  are  no  standing  armies;  but 
every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms  is  called 
on  to  become  a  soldier,  whenever  his  ser- 
vices may  be  required.  The  only  persons 
steadily  kept  in  pay  as  military  men  are  half 
a  dozen  captains,  who  command  the  forts  at 
Muscat,  Muttrah,  and  Burka,  on  the  coast, 
with  about  a  hundred  gunners,  for  the  ma- 


406  ARMY    OF    THE    IMAUM. 

nagement  of  the  cannon  under  them.  The 
rest  of  the  army  may  be  called  a  sort  of 
levy  en  masse.  On  his  territory  being 
threatened  in  any  quarter,  the  Imaum  ad- 
dresses letters  to  the  Sheiks,  or  heads  of  fa- 
milies, and  to  the  men  of  the  greatest  in- 
fluence and  power  in  the  quarter  threatened, 
calling  upon  them  to  prove  theii;  allegiance 
by  raising  a  body  of  men,  specifying  the 
number  and  the  service  required.  Accord- 
ing to  the  popularity  of  the  war  to  be  engaged 
in,  these  come  forward  with  alacrity  and 
good-will.  Every  man  is  already  armed,  al- 
most from  his  cradle,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  nation  ;  and  the  very  act  of  wear- 
ing such  arms  familiarizes  him  to  their  sight, 
and  often  improves  the  wearer  in  the  use  of 
them.  As  all  discipline  beyond  a  sort  of  ge- 
neral obedience  to  some  chief  is  unknown 
among  them,  neither  uniformity  of  dress  nor 
of  arms  is  required.  Every  man  brings  with 
him  the  weapons  he  likes  best ;  the  maga- 
zines of  the  Prince  supply  the  ammunition ; 
and  the  heads  of  such  districts  as  the  armed 
force  may  be  actually  in,  are  enjoined  to  fur- 
nish them  with  subsistence.  Remunerations 
are  made  to  these  heads  of  districts,  either 


ARABS    OF    MUSCAT. 


407 


by  sums  of  money,  or  by  exemption  from 
tithes  and  duties  to  the  amount  expended. 
The  spoils  of  the  war,  if  any,  are  entirely 
divided  among  those  engaged ;  and  besides 
a  stipulated  daily  pay  to  every  man  bearing 
arms,  in  proportion  to  his  rank,  an  ample 
reward  is  made  to  every  one  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  proportioned  to  the  service  which 
he  himself  is  thought  to  have  individually 
rendered.  These  branches  of  expenditure 
k  at  the  present  moment,  when  the  Imaum  has 
a  body  of  twenty  thousand  men  on  foot, 
press  hard  on  the  declining  revenues  of  his 
port ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  liberally 
supported  by  every  one  throughout  his  do- 
minions, and  voluntary  gifts  of  sums  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  war  are  made  by  wealthy 
patriots:  and  his  own  resources  are  thought 
to  be  yet  very  ample,  and  much  more  than 
adequate  to  meet  every  exigency. 

The  appearance,  dress,  and  manners  of  the 
Arabs  of  Muscat  differ  but  little  from  those 
of  Yemen  and  the  coast  of  Hadramaut.  In 
stature  they  are  of  the  middle  size,  but  almost 
invariably  slender.  Their  physiognomy  is 
not  so  marked  as  that  of  most  of  the  Desert 
Arabs,  from  their  race  being  more  mixed  with 


408  ARABS    OF    MUSCAT. 

foreigners  brought  among  them  by  trade. 
The  complexions  of  those  of  pure  Arab  de- 
scent are  much  fairer  here  than  in  any  part 
of  Arabia  that  I  have  visited,  from  the  south- 
ern borders  of  Palestine  to  the  Indian  Ocean  ; 
though,  excepting  the  plains  of  Babylonia, 
Muscat  is  the  hottest  place  I  have  ever  ex- 
perienced, in  any  part  of  the  world.  From 
the  preference  which  seems  to  be  given  here 
to  handsome  Abyssinian  women  over  all 
others,  there  are  scarcely  any  persons  able  to 
afford  this  luxury,  who  are  without  an  Abys- 
sinian  beauty,  as  a  wife,  a  mistress,  or  a  slave. 
This  has  given  a  cast  of  Abyssinian  feature, 
and  a  tinge  of  Abyssinian  complexion,  to  a 
large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Muscat : 
besides  which,  there  are  many  tall  and  hand- 
some young  male  slaves,  who  are  assigned 
the  most  honourable  places,  as  rulers  of  their 
master's  household,  though  still  slaves ;  and 
others  again,  who  by  the  death  of  their 
masters,  or  other  causes,  have  obtained  their 
freedom,  and  enriched  themselves  so  as  to  be- 
come the  principal  merchants  of  the  place. 

A  distinguished  person  of  this  last  descrip- 
tion had  recently  arrived  here  with  all  his 
family  and  suite,  from  Bombay.     This  man 


AN    ABYSSINIAN    SLAVE.  409 

was  a  native  of  Gondar,  tall,  handsome,  and 
of  regular  features,  approaching  to  the  Eu- 
ropean form;  but  his  complexion  was  a  jet 
black  and  his  hair  short  and  woolly,  though 
he  had  nothing  else  in  his  appearance  that 
was  African.  He  was  originally  brought  from 
Massowah,  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  sold  as  a 
slave  at  Muscat.  Having  the  good  fortune 
to  serve  a  most  excellent  master,  and  being 
himself  a  faithful  servant,  he  was  admitted 
as  adopted  heir  to  all  the  property,  there 
being  no  children  to  claim  it ;  and,  as  is  not 
unfrequently  the  case  in  similar  instances  of 
a  faithful  slave  serving  a  benevolent  owner, 
he  was  invested  with  all  the  property  by  will 
before  his  master's  death.  Not  long  after,  or 
when  the  time  required  by  the  law  had  been 
fulfilled,  he  married  the  widow  of  his  bene- 
factor, and  took  her  and  all  her  relatives 
under  his  protection.  Making  a  voyage  to 
India,  he  remained  long  enough  as  a  fixed 
resident  in  Bombay  to  establish  his  domicile 
there ;  and,  in  virtue  of  this,  was  considered 
to  be  a  British  subject,  and  permitted  as  such 
to  sail  his  vessels  under  the  British  flag. 
One  of  these,  the  Sulimany,  commanded  by 
an  English  captain,  touched  at  Muscat,  on 


410  CAPTURE    OF    THE    SULIMANY. 

her  way  to  Bussorah.  Some  slaves  were  put 
on  board  of  her  against  the  English  cap- 
tain's remonstrances ;  and  the  agents  of  the 
owner,  who  was  himself  at  Bombay,  seemed 
to  think,  that  though  their  principal  was 
sufficiently  an  Englishman,  by  adoptipn  or 
domicile,  to  obtain  a  British  flag  for  his  ves- 
sels, yet  that  they  were  sufficiently  Arabs 
to  be  justified  in  conducting  their  own  bu- 
siness, even  in  these  ships,  as  Arab  merchantis. 
The  Sulimany  sailed  for  Bussorah,  was  exa- 
mined and  captured  by  his  Majesty's  ship 
Favourite,  the  Hon.  Captain  Maude,  in  the 
Gulf,  was  sent  to  Bombay,  and  there  con- 
demned in  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  as  a 
lawful  prize,  for  being  found  with  slaves  on 
board  under  English  colours,  and  accordingly 
condemned.  The  Abyssinian,  finding  his 
interests  shaken  by  this  stroke  in  India,  had 
returned  to  what  he  considered  his  real 
home,  and  had  brought  all  his  family  and 
domestics  with  him. — There  were  many  ge- 
nuine Abyssinians,  and  others  mixed  with 
Arab  blood  in  their  descent,  settled  here  as 
merchants  of  wealth  and  importance,  and  this 
returning  Abyssinian    was    received   among 


INHABITANTS    OF    MUSCAT.  411 

them  all  jvith  marks  of  universal  respect  and 
consideration.  There  are  also  found  here  a 
number  of  African  negroes  ;  but  these,  from 
their  inferiority  of  capacity  and  understand- 
ing to  the  Abyssinians,  seldom  or  ever  ob- 
tain their  freedom,  or  arrive  at  any  dis- 
tinction, but  continue  to  perform  the  lowest 
offices  and  the  most  laborious  duties  during 
all  their  lives. 

These  three  classes  are  all  Mohammedans, 
and  of  the  Soonnee  sect.  Their  deportment 
is  grave,  and  their  manner  taciturn  and 
serious  ;  but  there  is  yet  an  air  of  cheerful- 
ness, and  a  look  of  content  and  good-nature 
mixed  with  what  would  be  otherwise  for- 
bidding by  its  coldness.  Beards  are  univer- 
sally worn  ;  but  these  are  by  nature  thin 
and  scanty  :  they  are  generally  preserved  of 
the  natural  colour,  and  not  dyed,  as  with 
the  Persians ;  though  henna,  the  stain  used 
for  that  purpose,  is  here  applied  freely  to 
the  soles  of  the  feet  and  the  palms  of  the 
hands ;  as  well  as  cohel,  or  surmeh,  the 
Arabic  and  Turkish  names  of  antimony,  to 
the  eyes,  from  an  idea  that  it  increases  their 
sparkling   eifect,   and    preserves    the   sight. 


412  INHABITANTS    OF    MUSCAT. 

Rings  are  sometimes  worn,  with  the  turquoise 
or  firouzi  stone  set  in  them/^  The  dress  of 
the  men  is  simply  a  shirt  and  trowsers  of 
fine  muslin,  slightly  girded  round  the  waist, 
open  sandals  of  worked  leather,  and  a  turban 
of  small  blue  checked  cotton,  with  a  silk  and 
cotton  border  of  red  and  yellow,  a  manu- 
facture peculiar  to  the  town  of  Sahar,  to  the 
north-west  of  Muscat,  on  the  coast.     In  the 

*  Pliny  describes  this  stone  under  the  name  of  Gallais,  which  I 

is  translated  *  turquois.'  His  observations  on  it  are  these  :■ — It 
has  a  certain  green,  inclining  to  a  yellow.  It  is  found  among 
the  inhabitants  of  Caucasus,  and  here  they  grow  to  a  large  size, 
but  are  imperfect.  The  finest  and  the  best  are  those  of  Carma- 
nia.  In  both  countries  they  are  found  softly  imbedded  in  earth, 
and,  when  seen  in  cliffs,  project  out  like  bosses.  They  are 
mostly  fourid  in  places  difficult  of  access,  and  were,  for  that 
reason,  formerly  slung  at  with  slings  ;  so  that  a  mass  of  earth, 
falling,  brought  them  down  with  it.  This  stone  was  in  such 
esteem  among  the  rich  people  of  the  countries  themselves  in 
which  they  were  found,  that  no  jewel  was  preferred  above  it, 
for  collars,  chains,  or  necklaces.  They  must  be  fashioned  into 
the  desired  shape  by  the  lapidary,  and  are  easy  to  be  wrought 
upon.  The  best  stones  were  thought  to  be  those  that  came 
nearest  the  grass-green  of  an  emerald  (though  now  the  bluest 
are  preferred,  and  a  green  tinge  is  held  an  imperfection).  Their 
chief  beauty  was  however  considered  to  be  given  by  art,  and  it 
was  admitted  that  no  stone  became  setting  in  gold  better  than 
it.  The  finer  colour  a  turquoise  was,  the  sooner  it  was  thought 
to  lose  its  hue  ;  and  the  baser  it  was,  the  longer  to  retain  it.  It 
was  added  that  there  was  no  stone  more  easily  to  be  counter- 
feited by  art  than  this  was. — Plin.  Nat.  Hist.  b.  37,  c.  viii. 


FOREIGNERS    AT    MUSCAT.  413 

girdle  is  worn  a  crooked  dagger ;  and  over 
the  shoulders  of  the  merchants  is  thrown  a 
purple  cotton  cloth  of  Surat ;  while  the  mili- 
tary, or  people  of  government,  wear  a  neatly 
made  wooden  shield,  hung  by  a  leathern 
strap  over  the  shoulder,  and  either  hang  the 
sword  loosely  above  it,  or  carry  it  in  their 
hand.  Nothing  can  surpass  the  simplicity  of 
their  appearance,  or  the  equality  of  value 
between  the  dresses  of  the  wealthiest  and 
the  lowest  classes  of  the  people.  The  gar- 
ments of  the  Prince,  taken  altogether,  with- 
out his  arms,  could  not  have  cost  more,  I 
should  conceive,  than  about  an  English 
guinea;  and  his  arms  were  not  nearly  so 
costly  as  is  usual  among  the  northern  Arabs 
and  the  Turks.  Notwithstanding  which, 
however,  the  people  of  Muscat  seemed  to 
me  to  be  the  cleanest,  neatest,  best  dressed, 
and  most  gentlemanly  of  all  the  Arabs  that 
I  had  ever  yet  seen,  and  inspired,  by  their 
first  approach,  a  feeling  of  confidence,  good- 
will, and  respect. 

The  foreigners  who  sojourn  here  for  such 
periods  as  their  business  may  require,  but 
who  are  not  reckoned  among  the  permanent 
residents,  are  Hindoos ;   principally  Banians 


414  FOKEIGNERS    AT    MUSCAT. 

from  Guzerat;  some  few  Parsees  from  Bom- 
bay ;  Sindians  and  Belooches  from  the  coast 
of  Mekran ;  Persians  from  Bushire ;  Arabs 
from  Bahrein ;  and  Jews  from  Bussorah. 
Some  Desert  Arabs  sometimes  come  in  from 
the  country ;  and  while  they  are  looked 
upon  as  much  greater  strangers  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Muscat  than  any  of  those  enumerated, 
and  spoken  of  as  a  sort  of  wild  race,  among 
whom  no  man  in  his  senses  would  trust  him- 
self, they,  in  their  turn,  regard  every  thing 
they  see  of  the  port,  the  shipping,  and  the 
bustle  of  commerce,  with  an  eye  of  surprise 
and  admiration.  The  few  of  these  men  that 
I  saw,  were  of  a  smaller  stature,  more  dried 
and  fleshlessin  their  forms,  of  a  darker  colour, 
and  altogether  of  a  more  savage  appearance, 
than  even  the  Yezeedis  of  Sinjar.  Like  them, 
these  seemed  never  to  have  passed  a  razor 
over  their  heads,  or  scissors  over  their  upper 
lip.  Their  hair  was  long  and  black,  and 
hung  in  a  bush  of  thick  locks  over  their 
foreheads,  eyes,  and  shoulders.  They  wore 
no  other  covering  than  a  blue  checked  cot- 
ton cloth,  girt  around  their  loins  by  a  small 
plaited  leathern  cord,  and  were  without  any 
other  shelter  for   their   head  than  the  im- 


TOWN    OF    MUSCAT.  415 

mense  bush  of  hair,  plastered  with  grease, 
which  covered  it.  One  of  these  only  had  a 
yambeah  ;  two  or  three  of  them  had  swords 
and  wooden  shields  ;  but  the  greater  number 
of  them  carried  short  spears  only.  They 
were  seemingly  as  barbarous  and  uninformed 
as  men  could  possibly  be. 

The  town  of  Muscat  is  on  the  whole  but 
meanly  built.  The  Custom-house,  which  is 
opposite  to  the  landing-place  both  for  pas- 
sengers and  goods,  is  merely  an  open  square 
of  twenty  feet,  with  benches  around  it,  one 
side  opening  to  the  sea,  and  the  roof  covered 
in  for  shelter  from  the  sun.  This  landing- 
place  is  also  the  Commercial  Exchange,  where 
it  is  usual,  during  the  cool  of  the  morning, 
and  after  El  Assr,  to  see  the  principal  mer- 
chants assembled,  some  sitting  on  old  rusty 
cannon,  others  on  condemned  spars,  and  others 
in  the  midst  of  coils  of  rope,  exposed  on 
the  wharf,  stroking  their  beards,  counting 
their  beads,  and  seeming  to  be  the  greatest 
of  idlers,  instead  of  men  of  business  ;  not- 
withstanding which,  when  a  stranger  gets 
among  them,  he  finds  commerce  to  engross 
all  their  conversation  and  their  thoughts. 
Of  mosques  I  saw  not  one ;   at  least  none 


416  TOWN    OF    MUSCAT. 

were  perceptible  in  the  town  by  their  usual 
accompaniments  of  domes  and  minarets. 
There  is  no  public  bath,  and  not  a  coffee- 
house throughout  all  the  place.  The  bazaars 
are  more  narrow  and  confined,  and  the  dwell- 
ings all  certainly  poorer  than  in  either  of  the 
commercial  towns  of  Mocha,  Hodeida,  Jedda, 
or  Yambo,  on  the  Red  Sea  ;  and  there  is  a 
strange  mixture  of  Indian  architecture  in  the 
Banians'  shops  and  warehouses,  gilded  and 
decorated  in  their  own  fantastic  way,  which 
contrasts  with  the  sombre  melancholy  of  the 
Arab  houses  and  alleys  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded. The  dwelling  of  the  Imaum,  which 
has  an  extensive  and  pretty  front  near  the 
sea,  the  residence  of  one  of  his  brothers  near 
it,  and  about  half  a  dozen  other  houses  of 
the  chief  people  here,  are  the  only  edifices 
that  can  be  mentioned  as  good  ones.  The 
forts,  which  command  the  harbour,  look  con- 
temptible to  an  European  eye,  though  they 
enjoy  commanding  positions,  are  furnished 
with  good  cannon,  and  are  perhaps  of  greater 
defensive  strength  than  they  would  at  first 
sight  appear  to  be. 

One  great  distinguishing  feature  of  Mus- 
cat,   over   all  other    Arabian    towns,  is    the       | 


INHABITANTS    OF    MUSCAT.  417 

respect  and  civility  shown  by  all  classes  of 
its  inhabitants  to  Europeans.  Even  in  Mocha, 
vrhere  the  East  India  Company  have  so  long 
had  a  factory,  the  most  impudent  insults 
are  offered  to  Franks,  as  they  are  called,  even 
by  children.  Here,  however,  where  there 
has  not  for  a  long  while  been  any  European 
resident,  an  Englishman  may  go  every  where 
unmolested.  In  the  town,  every  one,  as  far 
as  I  observed,  even  the  Imaum  himself,  went 
on  foot.  When  they  journey,  horses  are 
seldom  used,  but  camels  and  asses  are  the 
animals  mounted  by  all  classes  of  those  who 
ride.  During  our  stay  at  Muscat,  I  did  not 
see,  however,  even  one  of  either  of  those  ani- 
mals, though  I  was  on  shore  and  visited 
every  part  of  the  town.  The  tranquillity 
that  reigns  throughout  the  town,  and  the 
tolerance  and  civility  shown  to  strangers  of 
every  denomination,  are  to  be  attributed  to 
the  inoffensive  disposition  of  the  people,  ra- 
ther than  to  any  excellence  of  police,  as  it 
has  been  thought.  There  is  indeed  no  regular 
establishment  of  that  kind  here,  either  in 
patroles  or  guards,  except  at  the  forts  on  the 
heights  above  the  town,  where  there  are  sen- 
tinels who  repeat  their  cries  from  tower  to 

VOL.  II.  2  E 


418  INHABITANTS    OF    MUSCAT. 

tower.  Nevertheless,  whole  cargoes  of  mer- 
chandize, and  property  of  every  description, 
are  left  to  lie  open  on  the  Custom-house 
wharf,  and  in  the  streets,  without  fear  of 
plunder.  The  ancient  regulation  which  pre- 
vented the  entry  of  ships  into  the  port,  or  the 
transaction  of  business  on  shore,  after  sun- 
set, is  not  now  enforced  ;  and  though  shore- 
boats  are  not  permitted  to  come  off  to  ships 
in  the  harbour  after  dark,  yet  ships'-boats 
are  allowed  to  remain  on  shore,  and  to  go 
off  at  pleasure.  Every  thing,  indeed,  is  fa- 
vourable to  the  personal  liberty,  the  safety, 
and  the  accommodation  of  strangers ;  and 
the  Arabs  of  Muscat  may  be  considered,  I 
think,  as  far  as  their  manners  go,  to  be  the 
most  civilized  of  their  countrymen.  The 
author  of '  L'Histoire  Philosophique  et  Po- 
litique des  Etablissemens  et  du  Commerce 
des  Europeens  dans  les  deux  Indes,'  speaks 
of  the  people  of  Muscat  as  celebrated,  at  the 
earliest  period  of  their  commercial  history, 
for  the  most  excellent  qualities.  He  says, 
'  II  n'est  point  de  peuple  dans  I'Orient  dont 
on  a  loue  si  generalement  la  probite,  la  tem- 
perance, et  rhumeur  sociale.  On  n'entend 
jamais  parler  d'infidelite  dans  le  commerce, 


HISTOllY    OF    MUSCAT.  419 

qu'il  n'est  pas  permis  de  faire  apres  le  coucher 
du  soleil.  La  defense  de  boire  du  vin,  et  des 
liqueurs  fortes,  est  si  fidelement  observee, 
qu'on  ne  se  permet  pas  seulement  I'usage  du 
caffe.  Les  etrangers,  de  quelque  religion 
qu'ils  soient,  n'ont  besoin  ni  d'armes  ni  d'es- 
cortes  pour  parcourir  sans  peril  tous  les  partis 
de  ce  petit  etat.'^  This  character  of  them  is 
still  applicable  to  their  present  state,  and 
gives  to  their  country  a  just  claim  to  the 
proud  title  of  Aman,  from  the  security  every 
where  to  be  found  in  it. 

The  history  of  Muscat,  as  far  as  it  is 
known  in  European  annals,  is  given  in  a 
few  words.  During  the  splendour  of  the 
Portuguese  power  in  the  Indian  Seas,  and 
when  their  island  and  city  of  Ormuz  was 
the  chief  magazine  of  trade  for  the  Persian 
Gulf,  the  rival  port  of  Muscat,  enjoying  even 
then  the  consideration  which  its  local  posi-^ 
tion  was  calculated  to  obtain  for  it,  excited 
the  jealousy  of  the  intrepid  Albuquerque, 
who  made  himself  master  of  it  about  the 
year  1507?  and  endeavoured  to  force  all  the 
trade  it  carried  on  from  hence,  to  increase 
that  of  their  favourite  establishment  at  Or- 

*  Tome  i.  liv.  3,  p.  268. 
2  E    2 


420  HISTORY    OF    MUSCAT. 

muz.*     When  this  island  was  lost  to  them, 
the  Portuguese  endeavoured  to  concentrate 

*  After  the  taking  of  Socotra,  about  the  year  1507,  by  Al- 
fonso de  Albuquerque  and  De  Cunna,  the  former  of  these  pro- 
ceeded towards  the  coasts  of  Arabia  and  Persia,  with  seven 
ships  and  four  hundred  and  sixty  soldiers.  He  came  first  to 
Calayate,  a  beautiful  and  strong  place,  in  the  kingdom  of  Or- 
muz,  built  after  the  manner  usual  in  Spain,  but  which  had  once 
been  more  populous.  Sending  a  message  to  the  Governor,  he 
received  supplies  of  water  and  provisions,  and  entered  into  a 
treaty  of  peace.  Proceeding  to  Curiate,  ten  leagues  farther  on, 
he  was  very  ill  received  ;  in  revenge  for  which,  he  took  the  place 
by  storm,  losing  only  three  of  his  own  men,  while  eighty  of  the 
defenders  were  slain.  After  plundering  this  place,  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  along  with  fourteen  vessels,  which  were  in  the 
harbour.  From  thence  he  sailed  for  Muscat,  eight  leagues  far- 
ther, which  was  stronger  than  the  two  former,  and  well  filled 
with  people,  who  had  resorted  there  from  all  quarters  on  hearing 
of  the  destruction  of  Curiate.  Being  afraid  of  a  similar  disaster, 
the  Governor  sent  great  supplies  of  provisions  to  Albuquerque, 
and  entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace  ;  but  while  the  boats  were 
ashore  for  water,  the  cannon  of  the  town  began  unexpectedly 
to  play  upon  the  ships,  doing  considerable  damage,  and  obliged 
them  hastily  to  haul  farther  off,  not  knowing  the  cause  of  these 
hostilities ;  but  it  was  soon  learnt  that  two  thousand  men  had 
arrived  to  defend  the  town,  sent  by  the  King  of  Ormuz,  and 
that  their  commander  refused  to  concur  in  the  peace  which 
had  been  entered  into  by  the  Governor.  Although  Albuquerque 
had  received  considerable  damage  from  the  smart  cannonade, 
he  landed  his  men  early  next  morning,  and  attacked  the  place 
with  such  resolution,  that  the  Moors  fled  at  one  gate,  while  the 
Portuguese  entered  at  another.  The  town  was  given  up  to 
plunder,  all  except  the  residence  of  the  Governor,  who  had 
received  the   Portuguese   in   a  friendly   manner,  and  had  very 


HISTORY    OF    MUSCAT.  421 

their  commerce  in  Muscat,  of  which  they 
still  retained  possession.  The  Abbe  Raynal 
states,  that  all  their  efforts  to  effect  this 
were  fruitless,  as  navigators  took  the  route 
of  Bunder  Abassi,  or  Gonbroon,  near  to  Or- 
muz,  on  the  continent  of  Persia.  He  says, 
that  every  one  dreaded  the  haughtiness  of 
these  ancient  tyrants  of  India,  and  that  there 
was  no  longer  any  confidence  in  their  good 
faith,  so  that  no  other  vessels  arrived  at  their 
port  of  Muscat,  than  such  as  they  conducted 
there  themselves.      A   more  modern  writer 


honourably  given  them  notice  to  retire,  when  the  troops  of 
Ormuz  arrived ;  but  he  was  slain  during  the  first  confusion, 
without  being  known. — Manuel  de  Faria  y  Sousa^  vol.  vi.  part  2. 
b.  3.  c.  1.  s.  5. 

The  Portuguese  Government  of  Ormuz  and  its  dependencies 
was  however  so  oppressive,  that  they  constantly  laid  the  inha- 
bitants under  undue  exactions,  and  behaved  to  them  otherwise 
with  such  insolence  and  violence,  as  even  to  force  from  them 
their  wives  and  daughters.  Unable  to  endure  these  oppressions, 
the  inhabitants  of  Ormuz  and  its  dependencies  formed  a  con- 
spiracy against  the  Portuguese,  and  broke  out  into  an  open 
insurrection  against  them  suddenly  at  Ormuz,  Bahrein,  Muscat, 
Kuriat,  and  Zoar,  all  in  one  night,  by  previous  concert,  and 
by  a  private  order  from  their  King.  The  attack  was  so  sudden 
and  well-concerted,  that  above  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  the 
Portuguese  were  slain  on  that  night ;   and  one   Ruy  Boto  was 

put  to  the  torture  by  the   Moors,  in  defence  of  the  Faith, 

Ibid.  vol.  vi.  p.  192.  part  2,  b.  3.  c.  1.  s.  6. 


422  HISTORY    OF    MUSCAT. 

says,  however,  that  after  the  destruction  of 
Ormuz,  Muscat  became  the  principal  mart 
of  this  part  of  the  world,  and  thereby  pro- 
duced very  great  advantages  to  the  crown  of 
Portugal,  exclusive  of  the  prodigious  private 
fortunes  made  by  individuals.  During  that 
time,  continues  the  same  writer,  this  city 
was  very  much  improved  ;  for,  besides  regular 
fortifications,  they  erected  a  stately  church, 
a  noble  college,  and  many  other  public  struc- 
tures, as  well  as  very  fine  stone  houses,  in 
which  the  merchants  resided,  and  those  who 
by  the  management  of  public  affairs  had 
acquired  fortunes  to  live  at  their  ease.* 
The  traditions  of  the  people  here  are  more 
conformable  to  the  Abbe's  account,  though 
it  is  true  that  their  vanity  would  naturally 
lead  them  to  prefer  this  to  the  other,  if  they 
had  to  make  a  choice  between  them.  This 
much,  however,  may  be  said,  that  there  are 
at  present  no  visible  remains  of  such  gran- 
deur, in  fortifications,  colleges,  churches,  pa- 
laces, and  private  mansions,  as  Mr.  Milburn 
has  described;  though  at  Aden  in  Arabia 
Felix,  and  all  over  Salsette  in  India,  marks 
of  such  monuments  are  to  be  traced,  and 

*  Milburn's  Oriental  Commerce,  vol.  i.  p.  114. 


HISTORY    OF    MUSCAT.  423 

it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  a  reason  why  they 
should  be  more  completely  erased  in  this 
place  than  in  either  of  the  others.  Both 
of  these  writers  agree,  however,  that  the  Por- 
tuguese were  at  length  driven  out  from  Mus- 
cat by  the  Arabs ;  and  that  these  last,  to 
avenge  themselves  for  their  former  injuries, 
betook  themselves  to  general  piracy,  and 
having  many  large  ships,  from  thirty  to  fifty 
guns,  committed  great  depredations  on  the 
maritime  trade  of  all  India.  They  were 
at  length  so  effectually  checked  by  the  naval 
force  of  the  British  in  these  seas,  that  their 
piratical  pursuits  were  abandoned  for  com- 
mercial ones  as  early  as  the  commencement 
of  the  last  century,  since  which  they  have 
become  such  as  I  have  here  endeavoured  to 
describe  them.^ 

*  Some  of  the  wise  men  of  the  East,  who  saw  the  star  of  the 
Messiah,  and  came  to  Judea  to  worship  him,  are  believed  to 
have  assembled  at  Muscat  in  their  way,  according  to  the  cu- 
rious relation  of  an  Armenian  bishop,  who  spent  twenty  years 
in  visiting-  the  Christians  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel.  In 
giving  the  history  of  the  dispersion  of  the  twelve  Apostles 
through  the  world,  and  the  visit  of  St.  Thomas  to  India,  where 
he  suffered  martyrdom,  this  grave  bishop  declares  upon  oath, 
that  it  was  affirmed  by  a  learned  native  of  Coulan,  that  there 
were  two  religious  houses  built  in  that  part  of  the  country  by 
the  disciples  of  St.  Thomas,  one  in  Coulan,  and  the  other  at 


424  HISTORY    OF    MUSCAT. 

A  little  to  the  north-west  of  Muscat,  and 
seated  at  the  bottom  of  a  cove,  almost  of  the 

Cranganore ;  in  the  former  of  which  the  Indian  Sibyl  was  buried, 
who  advised  King  Perimal  of  Ceylon  to  meet  other  two  Indian 
kings  at  Muscat,  who  were  going  to  Bethlem  to  adore  the  newly 
born  Saviour;  and  that  King  Perimal,  at  her  entreaty,  brought 
her  (on  his  return  from  Jerusalem)  a  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  which  was  kept  in  the  same  tomb. —  Portuguese  Disco- 
ver]/ and  Conquest  of  India,  part  2.  b.  3.  c.  i.  v.  6. — in  Kerrs 
Collection,  vol.  vi.  p.  196,  197.  and  part  2.  b.  3.  c.  iv.  s.  vi. 
p.  419.    : 

This  Sibyl  of  the  East  seems  to  have  been  as  highly  favoured 
with  a  prophetic  knowledge  of  the  great  work  of  redemption 
then  about  to  be  wrought  by  the  Deity,  as  the  last  remaining 
Sibyl  of  the  West  was,  who  continued  to  burn  the  oracular 
books  to  the  last  three,  and  still  demanded  the  same  price  for 
these  as  she  had  done  for  the  original  nine,  from  a  conviction  of 
their  high  importance,  as  they  contained  even  more  sublime 
prophecies  of  the  Messiah  than  the  most  eloquent  of  the 
writers  among  the  Holy  Scriptures  had  given  utterance  to. 

The  history  of  these  Sibyllse,  and  of  the  Sibyllme  verses, 
may  be  found  at  large  in  the  Classical  Dictionaries.  But 
there  is  a  note  of  a  reverend  Doctor  of  Divinity,  as  the  Editor 
of  one  of  these  works,  that  is  worth  repeating.  He  says, 
^  There  are  now  eight  books  of  Sibylline  verses  extant,  but  they 
are  universally  reckoned  spurious.  They  speak  so  plainly  of 
our  Saviour,  of  his  sufferings,  and  of  his  death,  as  even  to  surpass 
far  the  sublime  prediction  of  Isaiah  in  description  ;  and  there- 
fore, from  this  xenj  circumstance,  it  is  eiident  that  they  were 
composed  in  the  second  century  by  some  of  the  followers  of 
Christianity,  who  wished  to  convince  the  heathens  of  their  error, 
by  assisting  the  cause  of  truth  with  the  arms  of  pious  arti- 
fice r — Lemprieres  Class.  Diet.  art.  Sibyllas. 

If  the  eloquence  of  prophecy,  or  the  correspondence  of  sub- 


TOWN    OF    MUSCAT.  425 

same  form  and  size  as  its  own,  is  the  town  of 
Muttrah.  As  a  harbour,  this  is  quite  as  good 
as  Muscat,  having  the  same  convenient  depth 
of  anchorage,  from  ten  to  thirteen  fathoms, 
the  same  kind  of  holding  ground,  and  a 
better  shelter  from  northerly  and  north- 
west winds.  Ships  not  being  able  to  beat 
into  the  cove  of  Muscat  with  southerly 
winds,  may  always  stretch  over  to  the  west- 
ward, and  anchor  in  that  of  Muttrah,  from 
whence  they  may  weigh  with  the  land-wind, 

sequent  events  with  the  facts  predicted,  render  it  evident  that 
such  predictions  must  have  been  composed  after  the  events  pre- 
dicted had  really  occurred,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  Sibylline 
legend  of  Coulan  will  rest  on  as  slender  a  basis  as  those  of  the 
prophetic  sisters  of  Greece  and  Italy  :  but  such  a  doctrine,  if 
admitted,  would  sap  the  foundations  of  even  the  sublime  pro- 
phecies of Judea. 

It  was  a  common  opinion  among  the  ancients,  that  their  great 
men  and  heroes,  at  their  death,  migrated  into  some  star;  in 
consequence  of  which  they  deilied  them.  Julius  Csesar  was 
canonized,  because  of  a  star  that  appeared  at  his  death,  into 
which  they  supposed  he  ^was  gone. —  Virg.  Eclogue,  19.  47. 
Horace y  lib.  I.  ode  12.  The  wise  men  who  came  from  the  East 
to  Jerusalen),  thus  exclaim,  '  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of 
the  Jews  ?  for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  East,  and  are  come 
to  worship  him.'-  Matt.  ii.  2.  There  is  a  passage  in  Virgil  too, 
which  implies  that  the  gods  sent  stars  to  point  out  the  way  to 
their  favourites  in  difficult  and  perplexed  cases,  and  that  the 
ancients  called  globes  of  fire  appearing  in  the  air,  stars. — Eneidy 
ii.  692. 


426 


TOWN    OF    MUSCAT. 


and  come  into  Muscat  at  pleasure.  Muttrah 
is  less  a  place  of  business  than  Muscat, 
though  there  are  more  well-built  houses  in 
it,  from  its  being  a  cooler  and  more  agree- 
able residence,  and,  as  such,  a  place  of  re- 
treat for  men  of  wealth.  Provisions  and 
refreshments  for  shipping  may  be  had  with 
equal  ease  from  either  of  these  places ;  in- 
deed, the  greater  part  of  those  brought  to 
Muscat  are  said  to  come  through  Muttrah, 
from  the  country  behind.^     Meat,  vegetables. 


*  Muttrah  is  mentioned  at  a  very  early  period,  as  connected 
with  Muscat,  under  the  name  of  Matara.  About  the  year  1580, 
when  Philip  the  Second  of  Spain  was  admitted  as  King  of  Por- 
tugal, and  obliged  all  the  Portuguese  in  India  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  him,  Muscat  was  still  in  their  possession.  There 
was  at  this  time  a  certain  Mir  Azenam  Pasha,  a  native  of 
Otranto,  and  born  of  Christian  parents,  who  was  governor  of  all 
Yemen,  in  Arabia,  and  resided  at  Sana,  the  capital  city  of  that 
province.  Being  desirous  of  plundering  Muskat,  Mir  Azenam 
sent  three  Turkish  gallies  on  that  errand,  under  Ali  Beg,  who 
took  possession  of  Muscat,  whence  most  of  the  Portuguese 
residents  saved  themselves  by  flight,  leaving  their  goods  to  be 
plundered  by  Ali  Beg.  The  fugitives  took  refuge  in  Matara,  a 
town  only  a  league  distant,  whence  they  went  to  Bruxel,  a  fort 
about  four  leagues  inland,  belonging  to  Ceatani,  the  Sheikh  or 
chief  of  a  tribe  or  horde  of  Arabs.  The  Arab  officer  who  com- 
manded there,  received  the  Portuguese  with  much  kindness  and 
hospitality,  and  protected  them  till  the  departure  of  Ali  Beg, 
when  they  returned  to  Muskat. — Manuel  de  Faria  y  Soiisa,  part 
2,  b.  3,  c.  4.  s.  10.  vol.  6,  p.  460. 


TOWN    OF    MUSCAT.  427 

and  fruit,  are  all  abundant  in  their  season, 
of  excellent  quality  and  low  price  ;  and  fish 
are  nowhere  more  plentiful  or  more  delicious 
than  here.     The  water  also  is  pure,  whole- 
some, and  agreeable  to  the  taste;  it  is  brought 
from  springs  in  the  hills,  and  conducted  into 
a  reservoir   at  Muscat,  from   which   a  ship's 
casks  may  be  filled  in  a  few  hours,  if  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  hands  be  employed.     This 
is  more  frequently  done  by  large  boats  and 
people  from  the  shore,  than  by  the  boats  of 
the  ships  watering,  and   is  found  to  be  at- 
tended with  conveniencies  which  more  than 
overbalance  so  trifling  an  expense,  being  also 
much  more   expeditious.     For  ships  having 
tanks,  or  wishing  to  fill  their  own  casks  on 
board,  it  is  usual  to  send  off  water  in  bulk, 
in  a  large  boat,  filled  at  the  reservoir;    but 
this  is  found  to  affect  the  quality  of  the  water 
materially,  and  should,  if  possible,  be  avoided. 
The  boats  themselves  being  frequently  oiled 
on  the  inside  to  preserve  the  wood,  this  oil 
gives  a  peculiarly  unpleasant  taste  to    the 
water,  which  remains  on  it  for  many  hours  ; 
the  boats  always  leak  a  little  also  in  their 
upper  works,  by  which  the  sea-water  is  let 
in  to  mix  with  the  fresh,  and  makes  it  quite 


428  HARBOUR    OF    iMUSCAT. 

brackish ;  and  lastly,  the  men  employed  on 
this  service,  who  are  generally  negro  slaves, 
make  no  scruple  to  come  from  the  shore  with 
dirty  feet,  and  to  wash  them  in  the  boat ; 
they  plunge  their  perspiring  bodies  also  into 
the  waiter,  remain  in  it  to  row  off  to  the  ship, 
immersed  up  to  their  middle,  and  even  scrub 
and  wash  themselves  in  it  before  coming 
alongside,  so  as  to  leave  all  the  filth  and  im- 
purities of  their  skin  behind  them.  All  these 
causes,  though  creating  no  perceptible  dif- 
ference in  the  appearance  of  the  water  at  the 
time,  need  only  be  mentioned,  to  create  an 
objection  to  this  mode  of  receiving  it  on 
board,  and  to  give  a  decided  preference  to 
filling  it  in  the  ship's  casks. 

It  has  been  before  observed,  that  it  is  usual 
for  ships  to  moor  in  tiers  at  Muscat,  or,  if 
single,  to  ride  head  and  stern,  as  there  is  no 
room  in  the  inner  part  of  the  cove  to  swing. 
The  best  anchor,  and  the  ship's  head,  should 
be  to  the  northward,  and  the  stern  anchor  to 
the  southward.  Neither  in  entering  the  har- 
bour, nor  in  securing  the  ship,  is  any  assis- 
tance now  given  by  pilots  of  the  port,  nor  in- 
deed is  it  at  all  necessary,  as  there  are  no 
dangers  but  those  above  water  and  in  sight. 


HARBOUR    OF    MUSCAT.  429 

It  appears  that  formerly  there  was  a  Serang 
of  the  port,  who  moored  the  ships,  and  was 
allowed  a  fixed  remuneration  for  it  from  the 
vessel  brought  in  :  but  this  is  not  usual  now; 
though,  if  assistance  were  really  wanted,  or 
signals  of  distress  made,  they  would  no  doubt 
be  very  promptly  complied  with.  It  should 
be  added,  that  ships  wishing  to  refit  here, 
ought  to  be  furnished  with  all  the  necessary 
materials  on  board;  as  naval  stores  of  every 
description  are  scarce  and  dear,  from  their 
being  altogether  foreign  produce.  Ship-tim- 
ber is  brought  to  this  port  from  Malabar ; 
canvass  from  Bengal ;  coir  from  Africa  and 
the  Laccadive  islands,  and  made  into  rope 
here  ;  and  anchors  and  all  smaller  stores,  as 
well  as  guns  and  ammunition  from  Bombay. 
As  the  tide  rises  about  five  or  six  feet,  light 
vessels  may  be  hauled  on  shore  at  high- water, 
and  careened,  both  at  Muscat  and  at  Mut- 
trah ;  and  there  are  shipwrights  and  caulkers 
sufficiently  expert  in  their  arts,  to  render  any 
assistance  that  may  be  needed  from  them  in 
that  way.  Deficiencies  in  ships'  crews  may 
also  be  made  up  by  Arab  sailors,  who  are 
always  to  be  found  here,  and  are  unques- 
tionably braver,  hardier,  and  better  seamen 


430       DEPARTURE  FROM  MUSCAT.        . 

than  the  Lascars  of  India,  though  they  are 
sometimes  more  difficult  to  be  kept  in  order. 
On  board  their  own  large  ships,  even  the 
names  of  the  masts,  sails,  and  ropes,  as  well 
as  the  orders  of  command  in  evolutions,  are, 
as  in  India,  a  mixture  of  Arabic,  Persian, 
Hindee,  Dutch,  Portuguese,  and  English  ;  so 
that  the  Hindoostanee  of  a  country  ship  is 
quite  intelligible  to  them  all.  Besides  the 
terms  common  to  the  vessels  of  India,  I  re- 
marked some  here,  which  were  evident  re- 
mains of  Portuguese  domination,  as  '  Ban- 
deira,  Bussola  and  Armada,'  for  flag,  com- 
pass, and  squadron  ;  which  are  called  in  Hin- 
doostanee, '  Bowta,  Compaz,  and  Jhoond  ;' 
in  Arabic,  '  Beirak,  Deira,  and  Singar  ;'  and 
in  Persian,  '  Alum,  Doora,  and  Sengar.' 

Dec  5. — With  a  strong  and  favourable 
breeze,  we  left  Muscat  and  continued  our 
course  in  the  Vestal,  under  all  sail  for  Bom- 
bay, after  parting  with  the  Challenger,  who 
remained  at  the  former  port.  At  noon  we 
observed  in  lat.  24^*  3^  north,  and  were  in 
long  58^  40^  east,  with  the  visible  extremes 
of  the  Arabian  land  very  distant,  from  S(5uth 
half-east  to  south-south-west.  At  5.  30.  p.  m. 
we  opened  a  remarkable  valley,  or  depres- 


CAPE    OF    llAS-EL-HAD.  431 

sion  in  the  hills,  called  by  sailors  the  Devil's 
Gap,  and  forming  a  conspicuous  mark  for 
navigators  on  this  coast.  It  is  in  lat.  about 
23**  20'  north,  and  is  distant  nearly  eleven 
leagues  from  Muscat,  in  a  south-easterly  di- 
rection, so  that  it  serves  to  mark  the  approach 
to  that  port. 

The  coast  of  Arabia,  from  Ras-el-Had,  near 
the  entrance  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  to  Bab-el- 
Mandeb,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea, 
is  very  little  known  indeed  to  Europeans.  I 
had  occasion,  in  the  year  1815,  to  make  a 
voyage  along  a  great  part  of  it,  in  a  ship  be- 
longing to  a  Mohammedan  merchant,  called 
by  the  orthodox  name  of  '  Suffenut-ul-Rus- 
sool,'  or  Messenger  of  the  Prophet ;  during 
which  I  had  an  opportunity  of  verifying  some 
positions,  and  adding  to  the  illustrations  of 
the  ancient  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea. 
Some  of  these,  which  relate  more  particularly 
to  the  eastern  portions  of  the  tract  near  Ras- 
el-Had,  may  therefore  be  appropriately  in- 
troduced here,  as  belonging  to  the  hydrogra- 
phical  illustrations  of  ancient  history,  which 
form  so  large  a  portion  of  this  voyage  through 
the  Persian  Gulf. 

The  position  of  Ras-el-Had,  as  the  eastern- 


432  CAPE    OF    RAS-EL-HAD. 

most  point  of  all  Arabia,  is  most  distinctly 
marked  by  the  author  of  the  Periplus  of 
the  Erythrean  Sea,  who,  on  describing  the 
southern  and  south-eastern  coast,  after  pass- 
ing the  islands  of  Zenobius  and  the  larger 
one  of  Sarapis,  or  the  islands  of  Curia-Mu- 
ria,  and  Mazeira,  says,  that  on  approaching 
the  Gulf  of  Persia,  you  here  suddenly  change 
your  course  to  the  north.  This  is  literally 
triie  at  Ras-el-Had,  and  nowhere  else  upon 
the  coast;  for  Ras-el-Had  is  the  extreme 
point  east  of  all  Arabia,  as  Korodamon  is  in 
Ptolemy.  '  If  I  had  found,'  says  Dr.  Vincent, 
'  that  the  monsoon  was  divided  by  this  cape, 
as  it  is  by  Gardefan,  I  should  have  sought  for 
an  etymology  in  Greek,  as  the  divider  or  sub- 
duer  of  the  west  wind ;  but  I  can  learn  no- 
thing of  the  monsoon:  and  Co7ms,  notwith- 
standing its  meaning  in  Latin,  I  cannot  find 
as  the  name  of  a  wind  in  Greek.^  The  name 
of  this  cape  is  written  and  pronounced 
je^  Jl  ^  Ras-el-Hhadd,  which,  when  written 
j^  in  Arabic,  and  j^  in  Persian,  signifies  in 
both  languages,  '  a  boundary,  a  limit,  a  defini- 
tion, distinction,  an  impediment,  a  check,  a 
goal  for  racers,' — in  all  which  senses,  it  would 

*  Dissertation^,  vol,  ii.  p.  351. 


ISLANDS    OF    eURIA-MURIA. 

mean  either  the  eastern  '  boundary'  or  ex- 
tent of  Arabia,  or,  as  is  literally  the  case, 
the  northern  '  limit'  of  the  monsoon,  which 
ends  the  moment  a  ship  gets  round  it,  as  it 
does  at  Gardefan  :  and  thus  the  Greek  etymo- 
logy, as  a  divider  or  a  siibduer  of  the  west 
wind,  is  perfectly  consistent  with  its  present 
Arabic  name,  and,  what  is  of  greater  impor- 
tance still,  with  the  more  marked  and  per- 
manent features  given  to  it  by  nature. 

Beyond  Ras-el-Had,  to  the  westward,  are 
the  islands  of  Curia-Muria.  Edrissi  calls  the 
bay  in  which  these  islands  are  situated, 
Giun-al-Hascisc,^  (pronounced  Hashish.)  In 
another  place  he  makes  Hasec  the  city,  and 
Al  Hascisc  the  bay ;  and  the  principal  town 
of  the  Periplus  in  this  bay  is  Asikho,  which 
is  but  another  way  of  writing  the  same  word.f 
The  Curia-Muria  Islands  are  called  by 
Edrissi,  Kartan-Martan ;  and  Bochart  has 
observed  that,  by  a  change  of  points  only, 

*  Sinus  Herbarum,  Al  Edrisi,  p.  22. 

t  From  Moskha,  (which  is  assumed  to  be  Shahr^)  the  coast 
extends  fifteen  hundred  stadia  more  to  the  district  of  Asikho, 
(the  Hasek  of  Edrisi :  Hasek  means  weedy,  and  the  sea  here 
is  said  to  be  so,)  and  at  the  termination  of  this  tract  lie  the  Se- 
ven Islands  of  Zenobius  in  succession,  which  correspond  to  the 
Curia-Muria. — Periplus  of  the  En/threan  Sea,  vol  i.  p.  92. 
VOL.  II.  2  P 


4S4  ISLANDS    OF    CURIA-MURIA. 

this  will  be  Kurian-Murian :  as  thus,  Jjji 
Kurtan,  Jjji  Kurian,  (the  points  above  the 
third  letter  making  it  a  t,  and  below  making 
it  an  i.)  By  Kurian-Murian  would  be  meant 
the  island  of  Kurian,  and  others  around  it : 
as  it  is  common  in  Arabic,  Persian,  and  Hin- 
doostanee,  when  speaking  of  several  things  of 
the  same  or  a  similar  kind,  to  add  a  word 
exactly  like  the  name  of  the  thing  expressed, 
except  its  always  beginning  with  an  M,  as 
Bundook-Mundook,  for  musket  and  all  ac- 
coutrements  thereto  belonging  ;  Barsun-Mar- 
sun,  for  plates  and  dishes,  and  all  other  table- 
ware;—which  will  be  recollected  by  every  one 
conversant  with  those  languages.  The  is- 
lands of  Curia-Muria  are  those  to  which  the 
Arabian  fable  applies,  which  speaks  of  two 
islands,  one  inhabited  by  men,  and  the  other 
by  women.  In  Oriental  geography,  they  are 
placed  at  a  great  distance  to  the  south ;  but 
the  origin  of  the  fable  is  on  the  coast,  and 
truly  Arabian.  Ptolemy  makes  these  islands 
seven  in  number.^ 

Mazeira,  which  lies  beyond  this,  is  described 
by  the  author  of  the  Periplus  to  have  been 
in  his  time  not  under  Arabian,  but  Persian 

*  Vincent's  Dissertation,  vol.  ii.  p.  347. 


ISLANDS   OF    KALAIOO. 


435 


jurisdiction,  and  the  natives  were  then  un- 
civilized. '  A  vessel,'  he  says,  '  after  passing 
the  coast,  stands  off  to  sea  from  the  islands 
of  Zenobius  during  a  course  of  two  thousand 
stadia,  till  she  reaches  the  island  of  Sarapis, 
which  lies  one  hundred  and  twenty  stadia 
from  the  main.  Sarapis  is  two  hundred  stadia 
in  breadth,  and  divided  into  three  districts, 
each  of  which  has  its  village.  The  natives 
are  held  sacred,  and  are  ikhtheiophagi ;  they 
speak  the  language  of  Arabia,  and  wear  an 
apron  of  cocoa  leaves.  The  produce  of  the 
island  is  tortoise-shell,  of  superior  quality,  in 
great  abundance,  which  the  boats  and  small 
vessels  from  Kane  come  here  regularly  to 
purchase.'^ 

'  From  Sarapis,'  he  continues,  *  the  course 
is  along  the  adjoining  continent,  till  you  ar- 
rive at  Korodamon  or  Ras-el-Had,  when  it 
turns  to  the  north,  to  the  Gulf  of  Persia ; 
and  beyond  this  promontory,  at  the  distance 
of  two  thousand  stadia,  lie  the  islands  of 
Kalaioo,  or  Kalaias.  These  islands  stretch 
along  parallel  to  the  coast,  in  distinct  lines, 
and  you  may  sail  through  them,  or  between 
them  and  the  shore.     The  inhabitants  are  a 

*  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  93,  93, 
2  F   2 


436  ISLANDS    OF    KALAIOO. 

treacherous  race,  and  during  daylight  their 
sight  is  affected  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.'^ 

Dr.  Vincent  says,  these  are  the  islands 
called  Swardi,  a  corruption  of  Sohar-di,  or 
dive;  this  last  syllable  signifying,  in  some  of 
the  Indian  languages,  an  island,  and  there 
being  a  port  near,  called  Sohar,  once  as  much 
frequented  as  Muscat  now  is,  for  the  Indian 
trade.  He  supposes  the  original  name  of 
Kalaioo,  or  Kalaias,  to  be  traced  in  Kalaiat, 
or  Kalhatjf  the  name  of  the  high  land  be- 
tween Ras-el-Had  and  Muscat, 

*  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 

t  It  would  appear  from  the  following  narrative,  that  the  town 
of  Kalayat,  seated  in  this  district,  was  a  place  of  some  import- 
ance. The  Portuguese  general,  Albuquerque,  on  his  returning 
from  the  island  of  Socotra,  where  he  had  wintered  in  or  about 
the  year  1508,  to  Ormuz,  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  was  determined, 
on  his  way  thither,  to  take  revenge  on  the  town  of  Kalayat, 
for  some  injury  that  had  been  done  there  to  the  Portuguese. 
Kalayat  is  situated  on  the  coast  of  Arabia,  beyond  Cape  Siagro, 
called  al?o  Rasalgat,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Behind 
this  town  there  is  a  rugged  mountain,  in  which  are  some  passes 
which  open  a  communication  with  the  interior ;  and  by  one 
of  these  opposite  tne  town,  almost  all  the  trade  of  Yemen,  or 
Arabia  Felix,  which  is  a  fertile  country,  of  much  trade  and  full 
of  populous  cities,  is  conveyed  to  this  port.  Immediately  on 
his  arrival,  Albuquerque  landed  his  troops  and  took  possession 
of  the  town,  most  of  the  inhabitants  escaping  to  the  moun 
tains,  and  some  being  slain  in  the  streets.  He  remained  here 
three  nights,  on  one  of  which  a  thousand  Moors  entered   the 


ISLANDS    OF    PAPIAS.  437 

*  Beyond  these  islands  of  Kalaioo,'  con- 
tinues the  author  of  the  Periplus,  '  there  is 
another  group,  called  Papias,  at  the  termina- 
tion of  which  lies  the  Fair  Mountain,  not 
far  from  the  entrance  of  the  Persian  Gulf; 
and  in  that  Gulf  is  the  pearl  fishery.  At 
the  straits  which  form  the  entrance  into  this 
sea,  you  have  on  the  left  that  vast  mountain 
called  Sabo ;  and  opposite  to  it,  on  the  right, 
a  lofty  round  mountain,  which  takes  the  name 
of  Semiramis/* 

Dec.  6th. — The  wind  had  gradually  de- 
creased in  strength,  though  it  still  continued 
to  blow  from  the  north-westward,  and  was 
accompanied  by  clear  and  pleasant  weather. 
On  examining  the  supply  of  rice  received 
from  the  Challenger  before  we  parted  with 
her,  nearly  the  half  of  it  was  found  to  be 
unfit  for  use,  and  accordingly  thrown  over- 
board ;  so  that  we  had  now  only  enough 
provisions  on  board  for  a  very  short  passage 

town  by  surprise,  and  did  considerable  damage  before  the  Po- 
tuguese  were  collected  to  oppose  them,  but  were  at  length  put 
to  flight  with  great  slaughter.  Having  secured  all  the  provi- 
sions of  Kalayat,  which  was  the  principal  booty,  Albuquerque 
set  the  place  on  fire,  and  proceeded  to  Ormuz. — Manuel  d^ 
Faria  y  Soma,  vol.  xi.  pp.  109,  110  ;  part  ii.  b.  3.  c.  i  s.  4^ 
*  Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 


438  Kautical  observations. 

indeed.  At  noon  we  observed  in  lat.  2S^  T 
north,  long.  60  30^  east,  no  land  being  in 
sight,  the  air  being  more  sultry  than  we  had 
yet  felt  it  during  the  voyage. 

Dec.  7th. — Light  airs  from  the  southward 
and  eastward  enabled  us  to  make  a  few  miles 
during  the  night ;  and  we  were  partially  as- 
sisted by  a  south-east  current,  as  at  noon 
we  observed  in  lat.  23°  3'  north,  and  long. 
61°  \T  east ;  the  weather  having  now  fallen 
calm,  and  continuing  so  until  sun-set,  when 
it  was  followed  by  variable  airs  from  the  eas- 
tern quarter. 

Dec.  8th. — A  dead  calm  still  continued 
throughout  the  morning ;  but  we  had  now 
felt  the  influence  of  a  north-east  current,  as 
our  meridian  altitude  of  the  sun  gave  us 
a  latitude  of  23°  9,9!  north,  and  our  longi- 
tude, per  chronometer,  was  at  the  same  time 
61°  32^  east.  Soon  after  noon  a  breeze  fresh- 
ened up  from  the  south-south-west,  to  which 
we  made  all  sail  oh  an  east-south-east  course, 
going  about  thirty-five  miles  before  midnight, 
as  the  breeze  gradually  freshened. 

Dec  9th. — Still  moderate  breezes  from 
the  south-south-west,  and  a  smooth  sea. 
Tropic  birds  were  seen  for  the  first  time  to- 


NAUTICAL    OBSERVATIONS.  439 

day,  and  flying-fish  of  a  small  size :  a  shark, 
of  nine  feet  in  length,  and  six  in  width  around 
the  head,  was  also  taken,  and  afforded  great 
diversion  as  well  as  a  fresh  supply  of  food 
for  the  crew,  among  whom  it  was  equally 
divided.  At  noon  we  observed  in  lat.  23°  15' 
north,  and  were  in  long.  65°  48^  east,  with 
light  western  airs  and  fine  weather.  Soon 
afterwards  the  wind  veered  southerly,  and 
continued  so,  without  interruption  to  our 
course,  throughout  the  remainder  of  the 
day. 

Dec  10th. — The  southerly  airs  had  now 
drawn  round  to  the  south-east,  and  obliged 
us  to  haul  close  on  a  wind,  in  order  to 
make  all  the  easting  we  could  before  we 
reached  the  limits  of  the  north-east  monsoon  ; 
but  the  wind  still  continued  very  light.  At 
noon  we  observed  in  lat.  23^  20'  north,  and 
were  in  long.  63"  33^  east,  the  breezes  being 
now  from  the  south-south-west,  but  with  a 
squally  and  unsettled  appearance,  and  the 
winds  flying  all  round  the  compass  between 
noon  and  midnight. 

Dec  11th. — The  wind  had  set  in  from  the 
north-north-west  before  daybreak,  and  as  it 
freshened,  it  drew  round  to  east,  the  weather 


440  NORTH-EAST    MONSOON. 

being  dark  and  threatening.  At  sun -rise  we 
had  severe  squalls  from  the  east-south-east, 
with  heavy  rain  ;  and  these  settled  into  a 
fixed  gale  from  that  quarter,  which  obliged 
us  to  send  the  royal-yards  and  masts  on 
deck,  and  treble-reef  the  topsails.  As  there 
was  at  the  same  time  a  very  heavy  sea,  we 
could  not  lie  higher  than  south,  looking  up 
at  intervals  a  point  to  windward.  At  noon 
we  were  in  lat.  22°  40^  north,  and  long. 
64°  45^  east,  and  now  considered  ourselves  as 
having  entered  on  the  edge  of  the  north- 
east monsoon,  which  prevails  in  the  Arabian 
Sea  from  the  month  of  September  to  May 
or  June  following,  or  nearly  three-fourths  of 
the  whole  year.  We  had  here  found  it  blow- 
ing strong  from  east -south  east  to  east-north- 
east, accompanied  with  squalls  and  a  heavy 
sea,  owing  undoubtedly  to  our  having  the 
Gulf  of  Cutch,  which  lies  in  that  direction, 
broad  upon  our  weather  beam ;  but  it  is 
known  to  draw  more  northerly,  as  the  con- 
formation of  the  land  favours  that  direction, 
as  well  as  to  incline  that  way  towards  the 
close  of  the  season  ;  since  in  our  passage  from 
the  Red  Sea  to  Bombay,  in  the  Suffenut-el- 
Russool,  in  March  and  April,  we   had  the 


GULF    OF    CUTCH.  441 

wind  from  north  to  north-north-west,  at  the 
close  of  our  voyage,  near  the  Indian  coast. 

The  wind  continued  a  fresh  gale  through- 
out the  day,  but  the  sky  grew  clearer  aloft 
towards  night.  As  it  still  came  in  squalls, 
however,  of  considerable  violence  while  they 
lasted,  and  the  sea  had  not  abated,  we  close- 
reefed,  and  made  the  ship  snug. 

Dec.  12th. — The  morning  opened  with  a 
clear  sky,  but  the  wind  was  still  fixed  at 
east-north-east,  the  Gulf  of  Cutch  being  still 
open  to  us,  and  the  swell  of  the  sea  high, 
though  more  regular  than  before.  During 
the  forenoon  we  had  an  opportunity  of  taking 
a  set  of  lunar  distances  for  confirming  our 
longitude  by  chronometer  ;  and  the  mean  of 
two  sets  and  three  single  sights,  alternately 
taken  by  the  commander  and  myself,  gave  us 
a  longitude  of  65°  27^  east,  at  nine  a.m.  At 
noon  we  observed  in  lat.  21°  23^  north,  and 
were  in  long.  65^  42^  east,  by  chronometer  ; 
which  was  a  sufficiently  near  agreement  with 
the  lunar  distance  to  prove  the  accuracy  of 
both,  differing  only  ten  miles  in  their  re- 
sults, when  the  reckoning  was  brought  up  at 
noon. 

We  had  perceived  some  regularity  in  the 


442  DEATH   OF   THE   BOATSWAIN. 

periods  of  the  ship's  coming  up  and  falling 
off,  which,  as  she  was  always  close-hauled, 
seemed  to  prove  a  diurnal  and  nocturnal 
change,  influenced  most  probably  in  this 
slight  degree  by  the  land  and  sea-breezes 
which  prevail  along  the  western  coast  of  In- 
dia, Guzerat,  and  Scind  during  these  months. 
In  the  evening  the  boatswain  of  the  ship, 
who  had  been  ill  of  a  relapse  into  fever, 
from  intemperance,  and  had  been  confined 
to  his  cabin  for  a  few  days  only,  died  with- 
out pain,  in  the  flower  of  his  age. 

Dec  13th. — The  morning  presented  us 
with  the  same  unfavourable  wind  as  before, 
with  which  we  could  not  keep  our  course  for 
Bombay.  In  consequence  of  the  wind  still 
hanging  so  far  easterly,  and  our  having  on 
board  only  six  days'  provisions  for  the  crew, 
it  was  thought  necessary  to  reduce  all  hands 
to  half  allowance,  until  a  prospect  was  af- 
forded of  our  being  able  to  reach  some  port 
of  the  coast  of  Malabar,  where  we  might 
refresh. 

The  body  of  the  boatswain,  being  opened 
by  the  surgeon  of  the  ship,  was  found  to 
have  the  kidneys  greatly  enlarged,  the  bow- 
els ulcerated  all  over,  and  the  liver  almost 


DEATH    OF    A    MARINE.  443 

destroyed, — all  of  which  were  the  effects  of 
hard  drinking,  to  which  this  young  man  was 
dreadfully  addicted.  On  being  sewn  up,  his 
corpse  was  carefully  washed  and  dressed  in 
clean  linen  by  his  shipmates ;  and  being 
wrapped  up  in  a  hammock,  with  two  cannon- 
balls  at  his  feet  for  sinking,  the  funeral 
service  was  read  over  him,  to  which  all 
attended  with  due  decorum,  and  his  remains 
were  committed  to  the  deep. 

This  ceremony  had  scarcely  been  ended, 
before  a  report  was  brought  up  of  the  death 
of  a  marine,  who  had  been  sent  on  board 
sick  from  the  Challenger,  to  be  taken  to  the 
hospital  at  Bombay.  This  man,  whose  name 
was  Edward  Lyon,  was  of  a  good  family,  and 
in  his  youth  had  run  through  a  fortune,  in 
premature  debauchery.  The  efforts  of  his 
friends  to  reclaim  him  had  been  so  often  tried 
and  disappointed,  that  they  at  length  aban- 
doned him  to  his  fate  ;  and  after  passing  by 
degrees  into  the  lowest  walks  of  life,  the 
ranks  of  the  marine  corps  brought  him  up, 
and  he  became  fixed  in  the  waist  of  a  man- 
of-war.  Among  his  relatives,  he  had  a  bro- 
ther a  rear-admiral  in  the  British  Navy, 
and   a  sister  married  to  the  captain  of  the 


444  NAUTICAL    OBSERVATIONS. 

Leander  of  fifty  guns  ;  but  he  had  not  now  a 
being  near  him  to  close  his  eyes,  or  even 
the  common  feelings  of  a  messmate  drawn 
forth  to  pity  his  untimely  end.  These  last 
offices  of  humanity  were  performed  by 
strangers,  who  were  neither  moved  by  his 
history,  nor  warned  by  his  fate.  His  body 
was  also  opened  by  the  surgeon,  and  found 
to  be  affected  nearly  in  the  same  way  as 
that  of  the  boatswain,  and  from  the  same 
causes.  The  funeral  service  was  read  over 
his  corpse,  which  was  secured  in  the  usual 
way,  and  committed  to  the  deep. 

Our  lunar  distances  were  again  repeated 
before  noon,  and  the  mean  of  their  results 
gave  a  longitude  of  66°  51^  east,  at  ten  a.m., 
when  at  noon  we  observed  in  latitude  £0°  24^ 
north,  and  were  in  longitude  67°  3^  east,  by 
chronometer. 

We  still  observed  the  regularity  of  the 
ship's  coming  up  and  falling  off  at  intervals 
of  about  twelve  hours,  with  a  freshening  and 
moderating  of  the  wind  between  the  changes, 
exactly  as  in  the  land  and  sea-breezes  along- 
shore. We  began  to  come  up  at  noon  from 
south-south-east  gradually  to  east-north-east 
at  sun-set,  and  east   about  ten  o'clock,  the 


GULF    OF    CUTCH.  445 

period  of  the  sea-breeze,  when  the  wind  of 
the  ocean  here  followed  its  direction  in  a 
slight  degree,  and  was  thus  drawn  more 
northerly,  or  less  off  the  land,  than  the  mon- 
soon, without  such  influence,  would  have  been. 
After  midnight  we  again  began  to  fall  off  in 
the  same  gradual  way  from  east  to  south-east 
until  past  sun-rise,  when  the  winds  blew 
from  the  east-north-east,  evidently  influenced 
by  the  land-breezes  which  blow  off  during 
that  period  ;  a  variation  highly  favourable,  if 
taken  due  advantage  of,  to  the  navigation  of 
this  sea,  particularly  when  approaching  the 
Indian  coast  from  the  Red  Sea  or  the  Per- 
sian Gulf. 

Dec.  14th. — As  we  closed  in  the  Gulf  of 
Cutch,  we  found  the  heavy  eastern  swell  set- 
ting out  of  it,  now  exchanged  for  smoother 
water,  and  its  violent  squalls  for  steady  though 
still  fresh  breezes.  The  wind  too  became 
more  favourable,  as  its  variation  through  the 
day  and  night  was  from  north-east  to  north- 
north-east,  enabling  us  to  lie  east-south-east 
when  most  off,  and  to  come  up  to  east  for  an 
equal  space  of  time.  This  circumstance,  as 
it  brightened  our  hopes  of  a  less  tedious 
passage  than  we  had  prepared  for,  admitted 


M6  NAUTICAL    OBSERVATIONS. 

of  an  additional  allowance  of  provisions  to 
the  crew,  before  they  began  to  suffer  from  its 
first  reduction. 

Before  noon,  our  lunar  distances  were  re- 
peated, and  a  mean  of  one  set  of  three-sights, 
and  a  single  one,  taken  alternately  by  the 
commander  and  myself,  as  before,  gave  us  a 
longitude  of  68°  2S'  east  at  ten  a.m.,  when 
our  observation  at  noon  made  us  in  latitude 
19°  40"  north,  and  longitude  68°  S2'  east,  by 
chronometer.  As  we  advanced  in  a  south- 
east line,  we  found  the  weather  more  and 
more  steady,  the  winds  more  moderate  in 
their  force,  and  the  water  smoother. 

Dec.  15th. — Being  now  completely  under 
the  lee  of  the  Guzerat  coast,  we  had  smoother 
water  than  we  had  yet  found,  with  the  winds 
steady  from  the  north-north-east,  so  as  to 
admit  of  our  steering  east  by  south,  with 
the  fore-topmast  studding-sail  set.  The  wea- 
ther being  fine,  we  sent  up  the  royal-masts 
and  yards,  and  bent  the  light  sails  again  ;  and 
as  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  termination  to 
our  voyage  brightened  every  hour,  the  crew 
were  restored  to  their  full  allowance  of  pro- 
visions and  water. 

At  noon  we  observed  in  latitude  19°  24' 


GULF    OF    BOMBAY.  447 

north,  and  were  in  longitude  70°  30'  east, 
when  we  hove  to,  and  obtained  soundings 
in  forty-five  fathoms  on  the  Bombay  bank. 
A  yellow  sea-snake  had  been  already  seen 
by  one  of  the  officers,  the  sure  mark  of  our 
approach  to  shoaler  water ;  and  the  colour 
of  the  sea  was  of  a  greener  cast  than  in  the 
deep  ocean.  At  sun-set  we  had  the  same 
soundings  as  at  noon,  on  fine  grey  sand ;  and, 
with  a  fine  breeze  from  the  north-north-east, 
and  smooth  water,  we  stood  on  east  through- 
out the  night. 

Dec  16th. — As  we  opened  the  Gulf  of 
Bombay,  we  had  the  wind  from  out  of  it  in 
a  more  northerly  direction,  which  enabled  us 
to  set  all  the  flying-sails  and  keep  the  ship 
free.  At  midnight  we  had  forty  fathoms,  at 
four  A.M.  thirty -nine,  and  at  sun-rise  thirty- 
eight,  the  water  now  of  a  pale  dull  green. 
At  seven  a.m.  the  land  was  reported  from  the 
mast-head;  and  at  nine  we  made  it  distinctly 
from  the  deck,  the  Peak  of  Bassein  then 
bearing  east  by  north,  distant  fifty  or  sixty 
miles,  and  soundings  in  twenty-five  fathoms 
on  fine  sand. 

We  now  bore  up  east  by  south  half-south, 
and  having  a  commanding  breeze,  with  all 


448   APPROACH   TO    THE    HARBOUR    OF    BOMBAY. 

sail  set,  we  rose  the  land  rapidly.  After  the 
high  land  of  Bassein,  and  its  remarkable  peak 
being  the  summit  of  a  conical  mountain  of 
the  Mahratta  country,  was  seen,  we  next  dis- 
tinguished the  piece  of  land  called  the  Neat's 
Tongue,  a  portion  of  the  island  of  Salsette,  so 
named  from  a  supposed  resemblance  to  a 
tongue;  though  a  wedge  would  be  an  equally 
illustrative  comparison,  it  being  high  at  its 
north-western  end,  and  sloping  down  gra- 
dually at  its  south-eastern  one.  The  two 
islands  called  the  Great  and  Little  Caringa, 
within  Bombay  harbour,  next  developed 
themselves,  with  the  Funnel-hill  and  the 
high  land  of  Tull  Point,  forming  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  the  entrance  to  the  port, — 
all  remarkable  lands,  and  constantly  referred 
to  as   sea-marks. 

We  obtained,  by  casts  of  the  lead,  at  in- 
tervals of  two  hours,  from  sun-rise  until  noon, 
the  depths  of  twenty-four,  twenty-two,  and 
twenty  fathoms ;  and  observing  then  in  lat. 
W  0'  north,  and  long.  7^""  SV  east,  we  had 
the  Neat's  Tongue  bearing  due  east,  distant 
apparently  "from  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles. 

At  one  P.M.  still  sailing  at  the  rate  of  six 
knots,  on  an  east-south-east  course,  the  sum- 


APPROACH    TO    BOMBAY.  449 

mit  of  the  island  of  Elephanta,  which  is 
within  the  harbour  of  Bombay,  began  to 
appear  over  that  island ;  and  soon  afterwards 
the  trees  on  Malabar  point,  looking  like  ves- 
sels at  anchor,  for  which  they  were  first 
taken.  The  island  of  Bombay  then  gradually 
rose,  and  white  houses  appeared  in  the  back 
bay,  looking  like  boats  under  sail,  with  the 
lofty  flagstaff  on  the  hill  of  Malabar  point. 
It  is  said  that,  when  the  summit  of  Ele- 
phanta becomes  visible  from  the  deck,  the 
light-house  on  Coulaba  can  be  perceived 
from  the  topsail-yard  ;  and  when  the  trees 
of  the  island  of  Bombay,  and  the  flag-staff 
of  Malabar  point  appear,  it  may  then  be  seen 
from  the  deck. 

It  was  about  half-past  one  o'clock  when  we 
just  distinguished  the  summit  of  the  light- 
house, rising  above  the  water,  a  little  to  the 
northward  of  the  northern  brow  of  the  Great 
Caringa.  Soon  afterwards,  a  gun  discharged 
there,  announced  the  appearance  of  a  ship 
in  sight,  which  was  followed  by  a  flag  at 
Malabar  point,  denoting  the  description  of 
vessel,  and  marking  the  quarter  fVom  which 
she  was  approaching.  The  signal  of  our 
number  being  displayed,  was  then  repeated 

VOL.  II.  2  G 


450  APPROACH    TO    BOMBAY. 

by  the  flag-stafF  at  Coulaba,  and  the  name 
of  the  ship  was  thus  speedily  made  known 
to  the  marine  authorities  of  the  Island. 

As  we  approached  still  on  an  east-south- 
east course,  the  lead  was  discontinued,  the 
weather  being  clear,  and  the  marks  now  a 
better  guide  than  soundings.  Standing  on 
until  the  light-house  was  in  one  with  Brow- 
ton's  Grove,  with  the  flag-stafF  of  Bombay, 
and  with  the  highest  part  of  the  Neat's 
Tongue,  all  at  one  time,  we  were  then  right 
off  the  pitch  of  the  south-west  prong,  which 
extends  nearly  three  miles  in  that  direction 
off  the  light-house,  from  which  we  were  then 
distant  about  three  miles  and  a  half,  or  half 
a  mile  to  the  southward  of  the  pitch  of  the 
prong,  in  seven  fathoms  water.  A  good 
mark  for  the  clear  passage  along  this  reef 
is  the  Funnel  Hill,  just  touching  in  one  with 
the  northern  brow  of  Great  Caringa,  on  which 
is  an  old  Portuguese  convent ;  but  this  is 
not  seen  in  thick  weather. 

Having  the  marks  described  in  one,  we 
hauled  close  round  the  south-west  prong 
steering  north-east  by  east,  and  bringing  a 
small  low  island,  with  a  beacon  on  it,  called 
the  Oyster  Rock,  nearly  on  with  the  square 


ARRIVAL    AT    BOMBAY.  451 

steeple  of  Bombay  church,  keeping  the 
church  still  a  little  open  to  the  westward  of 
the  beacon,  in  order  to  clear  the  outer  edge 
of  the  south-east  prong.  We  might  have 
shaped  a  course  of  north-east  by  north,  for 
the  buoy  of  the  Sunken  Rock,  if  the  wind 
had  been  free,  and  from  thence  gained  the 
anchorage  ;  but  the  wind  heading  us  off  from 
the  northward,  we  were  obliged  to  beat  up 
the  harbour  by  short  tacks,  in  which  we  were 
favoured  by  the  young  flood-tide,  and  an- 
chored in  safety  before  sun-set. 

I  repaired  instantly  to  the  shore,  and  met 
a  cordial  welcome  from  the  friends  whom  I 
had  left  here  about  twelve  months  before,  on 
my  voyage  to  Suez,  by  the  Red  Sea  ;  since 
which  I  had  traversed  nearly  the  whole  of 
Arabia,  Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria,  Asia  Minor, 
Mesopotamia,  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Media 
and  Persia :  and  therefore  had  much  to  re- 
late ;  while  my  complexion  had  been  so 
changed  by  the  scorching  heats  of 'the  De- 
sert, and  my  full  dark  beard  and  Oriental 
garments  had  become  so  much  a  part  of  my- 
self that  some  time  was  necessary  before 
those  whom  I  had  originally  known  under  a 
very  different  appearance,  could  be  quite  re- 

2  G  2 


452  ARRIVAL    AT    BOMBAY. 

eonciled  to  the  change  which  we  both  expe- 
rienced at  our  meeting.  This  meeting  was, 
however,  one  of  great  and  mutual  gratifica- 
tion, which  I  shall  long  continue  to  remem- 
ber with  pleasure. 


1 


INDEX. 


ABARIK,  station  of,  i.  457 
Abbas  Mirza,  Prince,  i.  346 

the  Great,  i.  365 — paintings  of,  384 — his  establishments,  397 

— palace  of,  403 — grand  undertaking,  i.  412 — vow  of,  413 —ac- 
count of  his  court,  &c.  418 — anecdote  of,  451,  452 — his  con- 
quest of  Ormus,  ii.  332,  333 

Abd-el-Russool,  Sheik,  Governor  of  Bushire,  ii.  Ill 

Abd-ul-Wahab,  religion  of,  ii.  212 

Abyssinian  Slave,  account  of  one,  ii.  408,  409 

Aga  Bozoorg,  a  builder,  at  Ispahan,  i.  409,  417 

Aghwashek,  village  of,  i.  18 

Ahl-el-Bushire,  or  the  race  of  Bushire,  ii.  108 

Ahmed  Shah,  Medress^  of,  i.  399 

Ahmedee,  station  of,  ii.  100 

Ain-Chermook,  or  the  White  Fountain,  i.  121 

Ala-ul-Din,  Seid,  tomb  of,  ii.  31 

Albuquerque,  his  conquest  of  Muscat,  ii.  420 

Alexander,  his  march  from  Susa  to  Ecbatana,  i.  21,  103,  104,  257 — 
his  grief  at  the  death  of  Hephaestion,  291,  292,  293 — destroys 
Persepolis,  490,  491 — his  marriage,  ii.  43 — his  conquest  of  Per- 
sia, 259 

Alfraoun,  village  of,  i.  302 

Ali,    Imam,  miracle  said  to  have  been  wrought  by,  i.  174,  175 

Khan,  Hadjee,  i.  249 

and  Hossein,  tombs  of,  i.  2,  8,  309,  316,  417 ;  ii.  71 

Kaup^e,  or  Ali's  Gate,  at  Ispahan,  i.  417 

Alwund,  river,  i.  68,  72 

Ameer  Ibrahim,  a  pirate  chief,  ii.  247,  250 

Ammeenabad,  village  of,  i.  438,  442 

Ammianus  Marcellinus,  i.  289;  ii.273 

Angar,  island  of,  ii.  231,  360,  365 

Antiochus  the  Great,  fate  of,  i.  270 

Arabia,  Eastern  coast  of,  little  known  to  Europeans,  ii.  431 

Arabs,  the  author  meets  with  three,  i.  27— their  mode  of  life,  30 — 
travellers  killed  by,  65— of  Bussorah,  ii.  146— their  character, 
193,  205— different  tribes  of,  340— of  Mazeira,  397— of  Muscat, 
407 

Arad,  island  of,  ii.  296 


454  INDEX. 

Architecture,  style  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  375,  382 

Ardeschir,  district  of,  ii.  259 

Armenian  Bishop,  at  Julfa,  i.  368 

Armenians,  of  Bussorah,  ii.  152 

Armstrong,  Mr.  of  Ispahan,  i.  345,  374,  417*  422 

Arrian,  his  account  of  the  Cossseans,  &c.  i.  89,  99,  290,   292,  293, 

487 — marriages  of  the  ancient  Persians,  ii.  43 — Icarus  of,  318 
Artemita,  route  from  Dastagherd  to,  i.  53 — conjectures  concerning, 

63,  64 
Arzeneeah,  island  of,  ii.  290 
Assad  Ullah  Khan,  i.  338,  346,  349,  400,  422,  448 
Avicenna,  tomb  of,  at  Hamadan,  i.  294 

Babcock,  Capt.  treatment  of,  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  224 

Bactiari,  a  mixed  race  of  people,  i.  436,  447,  461 

Bactrian  camel,  described,  i.  241,  242 

Bagdad,  journey  from,  across  the  Diala,  to  Kesrabad,  i.  1 

Bagh-e- Vakeel,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  15. 

Bagh-No,  or  new  garden,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  13 

Bagrada  river,  derivation  of  its  name,  ii.  274 

Baharam,  reign  of,  ii.  96. 

Baharam  Gour,  story  of,  i.  405 

Bahram,  or  Varahram,  figure  of,  i.  235 

Bahrein,    islands    of,   ii.  294 — pearl-fishery,   300 — springs  of  fresh 

water  at,  303 
Bailly's  Letters  on  Astronomy,  i.  478,  479 
Bajilan,  plain  of,  i.  79 

Bakouba,  village  of,  i.  15 — situation  of  the  old  city  of,  16 
Bassein,  Peak  of,  ii.  448 
Bath  of  Shah  Abbas  the  Great,  i.  349 
Baths,   at  Kermanshah,  described,  i.  186,  187,  188 — aft  Kauzeroon, 

ii.  65 
Bazaars,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  9, 10 
Beard,  disgrace  of  losing,  ii.  246 
Beebee  Dochteroon,  a  cemetery,  ii.  33 
Beethoobee,  island  of,  ii.  287 
Bellem,  a  small  canoe,  ii.  133 
Belus,  temple  of,  i.  270 
Beni  Aass,  island  of,  ii.  292 
Beni  Lam,  a  tribe  of  robbers,  ii.  204 
Benjamin,  of  Tudela,  i.  295.  ii.  305 
Berdistan,  Cape,  erroneously  called  Cape  Kenn,  ii.  252 
Biddulph's  Group,  account  of,  ii.  312,  313 
Birk,  signifies  a  well,  ii.  275 
Bisitoon,  mountain  of,  i.  244— cliffs  of,  250 
Boatswain,  death  of  a,  ii.  442 
Boeotians,  particulars  relative  to  the,  i.  109,  113 
Boghaz,  or  mountain-pass,  i.  96 
Boksye,  town  of,  i.  21 
Bombay  government,  instructions  of  the,  ii.   376,  377 — despatches 

to,  381— gulph  of,  447 
Boy,  singing,  at  Ispahan,  i.  361,  362 
Bridges,  Captain,  ii.  208,  347 


i 


INDEX.  ^55 

British  ships,  attacked  by  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.215 

Bruce,  Mr.  of  Bushire,  ii.  229,  244,  248, 249,  346 

Buckingham,  Mr.  his  illness  and  kind  reception  by  Mr.  Rich,  at 
Bagdad,  i.  1— preparations  for  his  journey  to  India,  2— meets  with 
an  agreeable  travelling  companion,  3 — assumes  the  name  of  Hadjee 
Abdallah,  4— takes  leave  of  his  friends,  6— alarm  of  the  caravan, 
18 — meets  with  three  Arab  horsemen,  27 — arrives  at  Kesrabad,  31 — 
his  progi-ess  delayed,  33— learns  Arabic,  34— loses  his  Koran,  35— 
visits  some  remarkable  ruins,  38 — his  conjectures  respecting  the 
Giaour  Tuppe-se  and  the  Diala,  45,  46— sets  out  for  Artemita,  54 
— arrives  at  Khan-e-Keen,  56— at  Zohaub,  83 — at  Harounabad, 
123— at  Kermanshah,  130— visits  the  friends  of  his  companion, 
134 — his  account  of  the  Dervish  Ismael,  135 — circumstances  under 
which  they  became  acquainted,  138— his  description  of  the  town  of 
Kermanshah,  174— engages  a  new  attendant,  199— visits  the  ruins 
of  Tauk-e-Bostan,  202— arrival  of  a  party  of  horsemen,  212 — 
questioned  as  to  the  object  of  his  journey,  ib. — describes  some  cu- 
rious antiquities,  220 — encounter  with  robbers,  261 — reaches  Ken- 
gawar,  265 — meets  with  an  accomplished  Dervish,  275 — account  of 
Hamadan,  (the  site  of  the  ancient  Ecbatana,)  283— attacked  by  a 
fever,  284— leaves  Hamadan,  and  proceeds  by  Alfraoon,  Kerdak- 
hourd  and  Giaour-Se,  to  Goolpyegan,  297— his  illness,  300 — an- 
noying inquiries  at  Goolpyegan,  323— sets  out  for  Ispahan,  by 
Rhamatabad,  Dehuck,  and  Chal-Seeah,  326— meets  with  a  party 
of  horsemen  escorting  a  youth  to  Ispahan,  334 — becomes  ac- 
quainted with  him,  337— his  account  of  Ispahan,  343 — attentions 
of  Mr.  Armstrong  and  Assad  UUah  Khan,  346— honours  paid  to 
him,  351 — visits  the  governor  of  the  city,  376— describes  the  palace 
of  the  Chehel  Sitoon,  381— the  Royal  Harem,  385 — principal 
mosques  and  colleges,  389 — Lootf  Ali  Khan,  390— the  Mesjid 
Shah,  or  royal  mosque,  391 — Medress6  of  Ahmed  Shah,  399— con- 
versation with  a  learned  MooUah,  400 — describes  the  palace  of 
Talar  Tuweelah,  403 — his  departure  from  Ispahan,  421-»-village 
of  Mayar,  426 — the  sepulchre  of  Shah  Reza,  429 — arrives  at  the 
town  of  Komeshae,  433 — Yezdikhaust,  443 — importunities  of  Per- 
sian soldiers,  446— arrested,  448— questions  put  to  him,  449 — pro- 
ceeds on  his  journey,  accompanied  by  the  whole  Persian  troop,  450. 
— visits  the  ruins  of  Persepolis,  476 — arrives  at  Shiraz,  507 — enter- 
tained by  Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  ii.  2 — his  description  of  the  town,  5 
. — visits  the  tomb  of  Saadi,  21 — of  Hafiz,  23 — of  Shah  Mirza  Ham- 
za,  28 — of  Seid  Ala-ul-Din,  31 — his  account  of  a  descendant  of 
Jengiz  Khan,  34,  35 — of  the  Gymnasts,  or  Athletes,  36 — leaves 
Shiraz,  46 — arrives  at  Kauzeroon,  63 — desirous  of  obtaining  infor- 
mation from  the  British  Resident  at  Bushire,  i6.— residence  in  the 
governor's  house,  68,  69 — visits  the  ruins  of  Shapoor,  78 — arrival 
at  Bushire,  101— parts  with  his  Dervish  Ismael,  102 — his  de- 
scription of  Bushire,  103 — of  Bussorah,  128 — his  history  of  the 
Joassamee  pirates  and  their  attacks  on  British  ships,  208 — voyage 
from  Bushire  down  the  Persian  Gulf,  251 — Ras-el-Khyma,  338 
— goes  on  shore  as  interpreter,  347 — island  of  Kishma,  360 — La- 
rack,  363 — Angar,  365 — return  to  Ras-el-Khyma,  371 — hostilities 
with  the  pirates,  374 — departure  from  the  bay,  378— progress  to 
Muscat,    389 — account   of  the  harbour    and    town,    392 — of    an 


4i56  INDEX. 

Abyssinian  slave^  408 — town  of  Muttrah  425 — leaves  Muscat  for 
Bombay,  430 — arrival  in  the  harbour  of  Bombay,  447 — his  recep- 
tion, 450 

Bund  Ameer,  river,  i.  467,  475,  505 

Bushire,  answei*  expected  from,  ii.  67 — arrival  of  the^ author  at,  101 
— account  of  the  town,  103— its  population,  108— merchants  of,  111 
— governor)  ib. — trade,  115 — duties  on  merchandize,  11 7— its  dis- 
advantages as  a  sea-port,  120 — the  pirate  Ramah  Ben  Jaber,  121 

Bussorah,  the  chief  port  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  ii.  126 — situation  of, 
128— form  of  the  town,  129— gates,  130 — canals,  131— canoes,  133 
— other  boats,  134,  135 — public  buildings,  140 — etymology  assigned 
to,  142— population,  144 — Arabs,  146 — Turks,  149 — Armenians, 
152 — Jews,  154 — Catholic  Christians,  155 — the  Subbees,  157 — 
Indians,  162 — European  factories,  164 — English  factory,  166 — 
British  Resident  at,  168 — situation  favourable  to  trade,  169. — 
exportation  of  horses,  171 — duties  on  imports,  181 — exports,  185 
— naval  force  of,  187 — appearance  of  the  country  in  the  vicinity, 
188 — climate,  191— character  of  the  Arabs,  193 — police,  202 

Cairo,  mosques  of,  i,  395 

Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  i.  502 

Camels,  large  breed  of,  i,  241 — diflference  between  and  dromedaries, 

242 
Caravan,  conveying  the  dead,  i.  11^ 
Carduchians,  a  warlike  people,  i.  84 
Carpet-making,  at  Alfraoun,  i.  302 
Catholic  Christians,  at  Bussorah,  ii.  155 
Caves  at  Tauk-e-Bostan,  described,  i.  209 
CelonsB,  towns  so  called,  i.  21 
Chal  Seeah,  public  khan  at,  i.  335 
Champion,  Persian,  ii.  39,  40 
Charrack  Hill,  a  mountain,  ii.  272 — town  of,  273 
Chartack,  village  of,  i.  316 
Chase,  representation  of  a,  i.  229 

Chehel  Sitoon,  or  Forty  Pillars,  Palace  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  381 
Chehel-ten,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  16 
Chemmen  Asipass,  plain  of,  i.  455 
Cheragh,  Shah,  tomb  of,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  8 
Choaspes,  water  of  the,  the  drink  of  Persian  Kings,  i.  207,  208,  240, 

337 
Chosroes,  particulars  respecting,  i.  49 
Colleges,  principal,  at  Ispahan,  i.  389,  397 
Colquhoun,  Dr.  character  of,  ii.  169 
Concobar,  conjecture  respecting,  i.  269,  270,  271 
Corn-mill,  model  of  a,  i.  374 

Cossseans,  particulars  relative  to  the,  i.  89,  99,  105 
Ctesiphon,  i.  45,  47,  62,  73 
Cufa,  city  of,  its  supposed  ruins,  i.  13 
Curia-Muria,  islands  of,  ii.  433,  434 
Gutch,  gulf  of,  ii.  440 
Cypresses  of  Shiraz,  ii.  16 
Cyrus,  his  march  against  Babylon,  i.  ^07 


INDEX.  457 

Dance,  island  of,  ii.  290 

D'Anville,  his  '  Memoir  on  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,'  i.  41 — error 

of,  46 — supposes  Artemita  and  Dastagherd  to  be  the  same  place, 

63— allusions  to,  269.  ii.  279 
Daood  Effendi,  rebellion  of,  i.  33,  83 
Daoos,  island  of,  ii.  289 

Dastagherd,  Palace  of,  i.  41,  42,  44,  49,  50,  87 
Degerdoo,  a  small  station,  i.  453 
Dehbid,  village  of,  i.  505 
Dehuck,  account  of  the  town  of,  i.  331,  333 
Delamee,  island  of,  ii.  291 
Derees,  road  to,  ii.  97 
Dervish,  curious  account  of  a,  i.  275 — eflFective  discourse  of  one,  ii. 

70,  71 
Dervishes,  tombs  of,  at  Shiraz,  ii,  16 — 19 
De  Sacy,  on  the  Antiquities  of  Persia,  i.  16,  43,  72,  77,  223,  234, 

258 ;  ii.  258 
D'Herbelot,  extract  from,  i.  69 
Diala,  journey  across  the,  i.  3 — appearance  of  the  river,  14 — supposed 

source  of  the,  16 — various  conjectures  respecting  the,  42,  44 — error 

of  D'Anville  concerning,  46,  47 
Diana,  Temple  of,  i.  271 
Diodorus,  his  account  of  the  Carduchians,  i.  84 — allusion  to,  271, 

290,  491 
Dress,  fashion  of,  in  Persia,  i.  378 
Dufterdar  EiFendi,  Secretary  of  State,  i.  148 
Dumboo,  village  of,  i.  330 
Dusht-urgeon,  village  of,  ii.  52 — town  of,  54 
Duzgurra,  castle  of,  i.  88 

Ecbatana,  Hamadan  said  to  be  the  site  of,  i.  281 

£1  Assr,  the  hour  of  prayer  between  noon  and  sunset,  i.  92 

Elephanta,  summit  of,  ii.  449 

El-Hhussny,  village  of,  i.  334 

Elia-abad,  a  small  village,  i.  317 

Elias,  a  Christian  merchant,  i.  142 

El  Kateef,  port  of,  ii.  308 

Elwund,  mountain  of,  i.  286,  287 

English  factory  at  Bussorah,  ii.  166,  167 

Erythras,  King,  tomb  of,  ii.  369 

Esther  and  Mordecai,  tomb  of,  i.  295 — inscription  on  the  tomb  of,  296 

Eulaeus,  river,  particulars  relative  to,  i.  271 

Euphrates,  banks  of  the,  ii.  188 

European  factories  at  Bussorah,  ii.  164 

Ferhad,  the  Georgian,  the  lover  of  the  fair  Shirine,  i.  70,  75,  76,  234, 

249 
Figures,  curious,  i.  225 
Fire-altars,  described,  i.  470 ;  ii.  96,  97 
Firooz  UUah  Khan,  i.  272 
Firouzabad,  town  of,  ii.  257,  258 
Fly,  an  East  India  Company's  cruiser,  taken  by  a  French  prifvateer. 


458  INDEX. 

ii.  217— her  crew   fall  into  the  power  of  the  Joassamee  pirates, 

218 — their  subsequent  adventures,  219 
Franklin,  Dr.  expedient  of,  i.  324 
Frazer,  Mr.  J.  B.  ii.  329 

French  vessel,  plundered  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  165 
Funeral  ceremonies  of  the  Persians,  i.  423,  424 — service  at  sea,  ii.  379, 

443 
Funerals  of  the  ancient  Persians,  ii.  44,  45 
Fury,  the,  attacked  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  226 
Futhabad,  village  of,  i.  469 
Futteh  Ali  Shah,  palace  of,  i.  409 — portrait  of,  414 — his  residence  at 

Ispahan,  415 — ^his  sons,  415,  416 — Pasha,  Governor  of  Zohaub,  86 

Gajjong,  the  ruined  quarter  of  Ispahan,  i.  354 

German  crown,  current  at  Muscat,  ii.  403,  404 

Ghareeb,  Hadjee  Seid,  tomb  of,  ii.  32,  33 

Ghilan,  district  of,  i.  20,  113 

Giaour,  remarks  on  the  term,  i.  50,  5 1 

Soo,  a  stream  so  called,  i.  51 

Se,  a  cluster  of  villages,  i.  308 

Giaour-Tupp^-se,  or  Hill  of  the  Infidels,  i.  38— conjectures  respect- 
ing, 45 

Gibbon,  extracts  from,  i.  49,  50 

Gombez  Lala,  or  the  tomb  of  the  slave,  i.  452 

Gombroon,  English  factory  at,  ii.  333 

Goolpyegan,  route  from  Hamadanto,  i.  297 — account  of,  320 — journey 
from  to  Ispahan,  by  Rhamatabad,  Dehuck,  and  Chal-Seah,  326 

Graham,  Lieut,  killed,  ii.  230 

Graine,  town  and  bay  of,  ii.  315 — islands  near,  316,  317 

Great  Tomb,  an  island  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  ii.  324 

Greek  inscription,  i.  251,  252 

Guebres,  or  fire-worshippers,  ii.  44 

Gulistan,  the  merchant,  i.  371 

Gymnast,  or  Athletes,  account  of,  ii.  36 

Hadjeeabad,  village  of,  i.  458 

Hafiz,  visit  to  the  tomb  of,  ii.  23 — works  of,  25,  26 

Hamadan,  the  site  of  the  ancient  Ecbatana,  i.  281 — route  from  to 

Goolpyegan,  297 
Hamam-e-Vakeel,  a  bath,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  1 
Harem,  royal  at  Ispahan,  i.  385 
Harounabad,  town  of,  i.  123 

Hasht  Behest,  or  Eight  Gardens,  at  Ispahan,  i.  38? 
Hassan,  his  meeting  with  the  Dervish  Ismael,  i.  439 — account  of,  ib. 

— anecdote  related  by  him,  440,  441 
Hassan  Ben  Rahma,  a  pirate  chief,  letter  to,  ii.  346--his  reply,  372, 

373 
Hebrew  inscription,  i.  295,  296 
Hellowla,  city  of,  i.  69— ruins  of,  75— route  from,  to  Zohaub  and  Ser- 

pool,  79 
Hephaestion,  death  of,  i.  291,  292,  293 
Heraclius,  his  march  to  Dastagherd,  i.  44,  61 
Herat,  city  of,  particulars  relative  to,  i.  277 


INDEX.  45^ 

Herbert,  Sir  Thornas,  his  account  of  Ispahan,  i.  408 — of  an  embassy  to 
the  court  of  Ispalian,  in  the  time  of  Abbas,  418— Persian  funerals^ 
423,  424— extract  from  his  Travels,  ii.  335,  336,  337 

Herodotus,  remark  of,  ii.  30 

Hhasseeni,  Cape,  supposed  to  be  Cape  Tarsia  of  Arrian,  ii.  280 

Hine,  Dr.  information  communicated  by,  i.  87 

Dr.  i.  140 

Hingham,  or  Anjar,  island  of,  ii.  365 

Hoi  wan,  supposed  site  of,  i.  91 

Horsburgh's  Sailing  Directions,  ii.  309 

Horses,  Arabian,  their  extraordinary  endurance  of  fatigue,  i.  30,  31 
— exportation  of,  at  Bussorah,  ii.  1 72— mode  of  conveying  to  In- 
dia, 175 

Hospitality  of  the  Arabs,  ii.  1 95 

Hufta,  village  of,  i.  313 

Hyde,  Dr.  supposition  of,  i.  225 

Icarus,  of  Arrian,  ii.  318 

Imum  Zad^,  village  of,  i.  274,  463 

Imaum  of  Muscat,  ii.  241 — revenues  of,  399 — his  government,  405 — 
army,  406 

India,  conveyance  of  horses  from  Bussorah  to,  ii.  175 

Indians  of  Bussorah,  ii.  162 

Inscription,  Persian,  i.  251 

Ismael,  Hadjee,  an  Afghan  Dervish,  accompanies  the  author  to  In- 
dia, i.  3 — teaches  him  Arabic,  34 — ^his  dissimulation,  84,  85 — 
visits  his  friends  at  Kermanshah,  134 — character  of,  ib. — particu- 
lars relative  to  his  family,  135 — his  attainments,  136 — his  talent  as 
an  engraver,  137 — how  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Buckingham, 
138 — his  painful  parting  with  his  friends,  141— loses  his  purse,  pa- 
pers, &c.  144—- his  religious  opinions,  145 — disappointment,  203 — 
his  illness,  328 — favourite  maxim  of,  398 — meets  with  an  acquaint- 
ance at  Ammeenabad,  439 — his  apprehensions,  ii.  49 — leaves  Mr. 
Buckingham  to  return  to  Bagdad,  103 

Ispahan,  route  to,  from  Goolpyegan,  by  Rhamat-abad,  Dehuck  and 
Chal-Seah,  i.  327 — outskirts  of,  341 — supposition  respecting,  353 — 
Gajjong,  354— Yahoudia,  355— Jews  of,  356 — Maidan  Shah,  357 — 
— Julfa,  368,  369,  370,  371 — mosqu€s  and  minarets,  374,  375— go- 
vernor of,  377 — palace  of  the  Chehel  Sitoon,  381 — the  Royal  Harem, 
385 — principal  mosques  and  colleges  of  the  city,  389 — Lootf  Ali 
Khan,  390— the  Mesjid  Shah,  or  royal  mosque,  391 — Medressd  of 
Ahmed  Shah,  i.  399 — palace  of  Talar  Tuweelah,  403 — Sir  Thomas 
Herbert's  account  of  the  city,  408 — its  situation,  416 — Ali  Kaupee, 
or  All's  Gate,  417 — the  Maidan  Shah,  i6. — ridge  of  hills  near,  424 

Istakhr,  or  Istakel,  castle  of,  i.  489 

Jaffier  Ali  Khan,  i.  507  ;  ii.  1,  34,  46,  65 

Jebel-el-Shahraban,  a  ridge  of  hills,  i.  25 

Jemsheed,  portraits  of,  i.  414 

Jengiz  Khan,  a  descendant  of,  ii.  34 

Jews,  supposed  to  have  been  carried  to  Ispahan,  i.  353 

of  Bussorah,  ii.  154 

Jeziret-el-Hamra,  town  of,  ii.  343 


460  INDEX. 

Joassamee  pirates,  attack  and  plunder  a  French  vessel,  ii.  165— 
— history  of  them,  208 — capture  the  crew  of  the  Fly,  218 — also  two 
English  brigs,  224 — attack  the  Fury,  226 — the  Mornington,  Teign- 
mouth  and  Minerva,  227,  228— the  Sylph,  229— the  Nautilus,  231 
— expedition  against,  233 — treaty  with  the,  244 — daring  proceedings  ■ 
of,  247 — population  and  military  force,  352,  353 — negotiations  with 
the,  358 — renewed  hostilities  with,  374 

John  the  Baptist,  history  of,  ii.  158 

Jones,  Sir  Harford,  his  mission,  ii.  229 — conjecture  of,  253 — allusion 
to,  324 

,  Sir  William,  authority  of,  i.  285 

Joomah,  an  Arab  pilot,  ii,  321 

Jukes,  Dr.  of  the  Bombay  army,  i,  214 

Julfa,  quarter  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  367, 368 — principal  church  of,  369 

Jumaeen,  island  of,  ii.  289 

Kaeese,  account  of  the  island  of,  ii.  281, 282,  283 

Kalajek,  village  of,  i.  304 

Kalayat,  town  of,  ii.  436 

Kara  Soo,  stream  of  the,  i.  205— supposed  to  be  the  Choaspes  of  anti- 
quity, 206,  240 — excellence  of  its  water,  337 

Karmanians,  manners  of  the,  ii.  285 

Kassr  Shirine,  ruins  of,  i.  66,  67 — modern  town  of,  71 

Kauzeroon,  route  from  Shiraz  to,  ii.  46 — accountof  the  town,  63 — 
baths  of,  65 — governor  of,  69 — situation,  74 — population,  76 

Kazim  Khan,  governor  of  Kauzeroon,  ii.  69,  74 

Kengawar,  town  of,  described,  i.  266 

Kenn,  island  of,  ii.  217,  220 

Kerdakhourd,  village  of,  i.  305 — its  situation,  306 

Kermanshah,  one  of  the  frontier  towns  of  Persia,  i.  129 — description  of, 
172— gates,  174 — population,  176 — mosques,  184 — baths,  185— ba- 
zaars, 192 — manufactories,  193 — provisions  and  fruits,  194,  195 — 
dress  of  the  inhabitants,  196 — horse-market,  198 

Kerrund,  account  of  the  town  of,  i.  116, 117 

Kesrabad,  or  Dastagherd,  departure  of  the  author  for  and  his  route 
across  the  Diala,  i.  1 — account  of  the  town,  31,  32 — remarkable 
ruins  near,  38 — situation  of,  45,  46,  49— route  from,  to  Arte- 
mita,  53 

Khakree,  village  of,  i.  274 

Khallah  Dokhter,  castle  of,  ii.  79 

Khallet  Zenjey,  village  of,  i.  116 

Khan-e-Keen,  account  of  the  town  of,  i.  56,  58— supposed  to  be  the 
site  of  the  city  of  Artemita,  i.  61 

Khan-el-Tauk,  i.  114 

Kherdoo,  village  of,  i.  308 

Khomein,  account  of,  i.  317,  318 

Khore  Abdallah,  ii.  189, 190 

Khore  Zeana,  conjecture  respecting,  ii.  252^  253, 254. 

Khosrou,  i.  211,  217,  228,  234 

Kinnier,  Colonel  Macdonald,  i.  269— his  Geogi-aphical  Memoir  of 
the  Persian  Empire,  i.  236  ;  ii.  319 

Map  of  Persia,  i.  62,  63,  73 

Kishma,  island  of,  ii.  361,  367 


INDEX.  461 

Komeshae,  town  of,  described,  i.  4-33,  434— mendicants  'in,ib. — en- 
virons of,  437 

Komeshah,  river,  i.  258,  259 

Kooh  Alwend,  range  of,i.  298 

Kooli  Khan,  Imaum,  ii.  69 

Koords,  account  of  the,  i.  81,  86 — intrepid  conduct  of  two,  97, 
98,  99 — appear  to  be  of  Tartar  origin,  109 

Koosk  Zer,  a  ruined  caravansera,  i.  456 

Koramabad,  its  inhabitants  addicted  to  theft,  i.  315 

Koran,  stolen  from  the  author,  i.  35 

Kotel  Dokhter,  or  the  Hill  of  the  Daughter,  ii.  59 

Kotel  Imaum  Zade,  pass  of,  i.  461 

Kotel  Mader-e-Dokhter,  or  the  Hill  of  the  Mother  and  Daughter, 
i.  459 

Kotel-Nal-Shikund,  i.  125 

Kuddumgah,  village  of,  i.  312 

Kujurs,  a  Turkish  tribe,  i.  415 

Laghere,  town  of,  ii.  307 

Langles,the  French  orientalist,  i.  43,  51 

Larack,  island  of,  ii.  363 

Lempriere's  Classical  Dictionary,  ii.  424 

Linga,  a  port  of  the  Joassamees,  burned,  ii.  238 

Lion,  curious  encounter  of  two  young  Koords  with  one,  i.  97 — 99 

Locket,  Captain,  error  of,  ii.  261 

Loor,  a  tribe  of  Koords,  i.  455 

Lootf  Ali  KJian,  mosque  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  390 

Luft,  a  port  of  the  Joassamees,  ii.  238 — taken  by  the  British,  240,  241 

Lyon,  Edward,  a  marine,  his  death,  ii.  443,  444* 

Maccabees,  second  book  of,  i.  491,  492 
M^Cluer,  Mr.  authority  of,  ii.  278,  282 
Mahee-Dusht,  or  the  yearly  birth-giving  plain,  i.  225 — 127 
Maidan  Shah,  a  public  square,  at  Ispahan,  i.  357,  358 
Malcolm*s  History  of  Persia,  i.  51,  72, 209,  214,  279,  406  ;  ii.  50. 
Manesty,  Mr.  an  English  envoy,  i.  214  j  ii.  167,  224 — his  remon- 
strance, 225 
Marriages  of  the  ancient  Persians,  ii.  42,  43 
Maude,  Capt.  voyage  of,  ii.  287,  293 
Maxim,  Persian,  i.  398 
Mayar,  village  of,  i.  426 
Mazeira,  Arabs  of,  ii.  397 

island  of,  ii.  434 

Medresse  of  Ahmed  Shah,  i.  399 

Khan,  or  chief  College  at  Shiraz,  ii.  40 

Melek  Mohammed,  a  Persian  champion,  ii.  39,  40 

Mendeli,  inquiry  respecting  the  town  of,  i.  20 

Merchandize,  duties  on,  at  Bushire,  ii.  117 

Merdusht,  plain  of,  i.  468—470 

Mesjed  Berdy,  village  of,  ii.  46 

Mesjid  Shah,  or  royal  mosque,  at  Ispahan,  i.  391,  396 

Milburn*s  Oriental  Commerce,  ii.  309,  422 

Milton,  assertion  of,  i.  207,  208 — his  Paradise  Lost,  ii.  330 


462  INDEX. 

Minarets  of  the  mosques  at  Ispahan,  i.  374,  375 

Minawah,  town  of,  ii.  295,  298 

Minawi,  once  a  distinct  village,  ii.  137,  138 

Minerva,  captured  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  228 

Mir  Mohammed  Hossein,  Hadjee,  a  learned  Moollah,  i.  4-01 

Mirza  Hamza,  Shah,  tomb  of,  ii.  28,  29 

Moayn,  village  of,  i.  465 

Mohammedabad,  a  ruined  village,  i.  317 

Mohammed  Ali,  a  Persian  boy,  account  of,  i.  334, 337,  363,  423 

Mohammed  Hussein  Khan,  Governor  of  Ispahan,  i.  350,  377,  409 

Mohammed  Kooli  Khan,  curious  story  of,  ii.  70,  71 

Monjella,  island  of,  ii.  267 

Monoliths,  i.  481—483 

Monsoon,  north-east,  ii.  440 

Montague,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  opinion  of,  i.  147 

Moollah,  learned,  i.  400 

Moosa  Baba,  fate  of,  ii,  39,  40 

Imaum,  i.  429 

Mordecai  and  Esther,  tomb  of,  i.  295 

Morier's  Travels  in  Persia,  i.  52,  432,  433 

Mosques,  principal,  at  Ispahan,  i.  389 — Lootf  Ali  Khan,  390^-r^Ie8Jid 
Shah,  391 — at  Shiraz,  described,  ii.  5 

Mosquitoes,  troublesome  companions,  i.  94 

Mountaineers,  of  Persia,  ii.  61,  62 

Mountains,  curious  question  concerning,  i.  97 

Muggrib,  or  sunset,  i.  7,  11 

Mujummah  Arabs,  i.  29 — 31 

Muksood  Beggy,  a  small  station,  i.  438 

Mummies,  mention  of,  in  Khorassan,  i.  487 

Murray's  Historical  Account  of  Discoveries  and  Travels  in  Asia,  i. 
482,  483 

Muscat,  account  of  the  harbour  and  town  of,  ii.  392 — gulf  of,  396 — 
description  of  the  country,  398 — revenues  of  the  Imaum,  399 — 
foreign  trade,  400 — government,  405 — army,  406 — Arabs,  407 — in- 
habitants, 411 — their  dress,  412 — foreigners,  413 — buildings,  415 
— character  of  the  people,  417 — histoiy  of,  419 

Musjid  Jumah,  a  mosque  at  Shiraz,  ii.  5 

Wakeel,  ii.  6 

Mussunndom,  Cape,  ii.  385 

Mutessellim,  present  one,  at  Bushire,  ii.  202 

Muttrah,  town  of,  ii.  426 

My  dan,  at  Ispahan,  described  by  Sir  Thomas  Herbert,  i.  409,  410 

Nadir  Shah,  restores  the  tomb  of  Hafiz,  ii.  25,  27 

Nashirvan,  anecdote  of,  i.  235 

Nautilus  engages  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  232 

Nazar-iareeb,  garden  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  411 

Nearchus,  ii.  134,  252,  265,  269,  282,  325,  326,  365 

Neat's  Tongue,  a  portion  of  the  Island  of  Salsette,  ii.  448 

Nereid  frig:ite,  pursues  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  230, 231 

Nessereah,  particulars  relative  to  them,  i.  110— manners  and  customs 

of,  described,  i.  Ill,  112 
Niebuhr,  Mr.  i.  433 ;  ii.  144,  158,  267,  338 


INDEX.  463 

Nimrod-Tupp^,  tradition  relative  to,  i.  65 

Nisaean  horses,  particulars  respecting  the,  i.  22,  23, 24, 289 

Nizam-ud-Dowla,  of  Ispahan,  ii.  43 

Nour  Mohammed,  information  communicated  by,  ii.  64 — 66 

Oom-el-Ghiewan,  village  of,  ii.  342 

Ormuz,  ruins  of,  ii.    329,  330 — conquest  of,  by  Abbas,  332,  333 — 

Portuguese  government  of,  ii.  421 
Orontes,  a  mountain,  i.  286 — 288 
Orta-Bir,  or  half-way  well,  i.  12 
Orta  Khan,  or  caravanserai,  i.  13 
Oyster  Rock,  ii.  450 

Paintings,  beautiful,  at  Ispahan,  i.  384,  403 

Palace  of  the  Chehel  Sitoon,  at  Ispahan,  i.  381 

Pars,  caravan  from,  laden  with  grain,  i.  435 

Paste,  curious,  i.  190,  191 

Pearl-fishery,  of  Bahrein,  ii.  299 

Pearl-shoals  of  his  Majesty's  sloop  Scorpion,  ii.  272 

Pearls,  supposed  formation  of,  ii.  305,  306 

Peerazunn,  or  the  old  woman,  mountain  of,  ii.  57 

Persepolis,  account  of  the  ruins  of,  i.  476 — the  city  destroyed  by  Alex- 
ander, 490,  491 — ruined  temple  at,  492 — castle  of,  494 — various 
conjectures  respecting,  497 — desolation  of,  504 

Persia  and  India,  trade  between,  ii.  115 

Persian  Baths,  described,  i.  185 — 188 

dishes,  ii.  30 

Gulf,  account  of,  ii.  127 — infested  by  the  Joassamee  pirates, 

208 

inscription,  i.  251 

Kings,  partial  to  the  water  of  the  Choaspes,  i.  207 — ancient 

tombs  of,472 

Pilgrims,  depart  from  Bagdad,  i.  3 — their  miserable  appear- 
ance, 8 — dress  of  the  women,  10,  11 

Soldiers,  parties  of,  i.  428,  446,  447 

verse,  interpreted,  i.  426,  427 

wrestling,  ii.  38 


Persians,  attitudes  of  the,  i.  378 — dress,  378^  379 — worship  of  the, 
394 — funeral  ceremonies  of  the,  423,  424 — marriages  of  the  an- 
cient, ii.  43 

Pirate  chief,  interview  with  a,  ii.  349 — reply  of,  372 

Pliny,  i.  207 — stone  described  by,  ii.  412 
Plutarch's  Life  of  Alexander,  i.  289 
Porter,  Sir  R.  K.  his  Travels  in  Persia,  i.  295 
Portuguese,  expelled  from  Ormuz,  ii.  333 
Proverb,  Persian,  i.  277 
Publican,  parable  of  the,  i.  394 
Pylora  Islands,  ii.  323 

Quintus  Curtius,  i.  490,  49 1 
Quoins,  Islands,  ii.  384 


464  INDEX. 

Rah-dan,  a  small  tower,  ii.  59 

Rahmah-ben-Jaber,  an  Arab  pirate,  ii.  121 

Ramms,  town  of,  ii.  357 

Ras-el-Had,  Cape  of,  ii.  431,  432 

Ras-el-Khyma,  a  port  of  the  Joassamees,  destroyed,  ii.  235,  236, 
249 — visit  to,  338 — account  of,  345— situation  of,  351 — moun- 
tains near,  354 — anchorage  of,  355 

Ras-Nabend,  supposed  to  be  the  place  of  the  river  Bagrada,  of  Pto- 
lemy, ii.  274 

Raynal,  Ahh6,  ii.  421 

Rennel,  Major,  supposition  of,  i.  353 

, —  Illustrations  of  the  Geography  of  Herodotus,  extracts 

from,  i.  22, 23,  48, 1 13,  376 

Rezah,  Shah,  sepulchre  of,  i.  429 

Rich,  Mr.  the  British  Consul  at  Bagdad,  i.  1,  139, 172,352 

Richardson's  Arabic  dictionary,  quoted,  ii.  137 

Robbers,  capture  of  a  party  of,  i.  458 

Roke's  Arrian,  extracts  from,  i.  499,  501 

Rosseau,  M.  the  French  Consul-General  at  Bagdad,  i.  1 76 

Rousseau's  Travels  in  Persia,  i.  61,  221,  228,  236 

Rustan,  equestrian  figure  of,  i.  211,  225 — 227 

Saadi,  the  great  Persian  poet,  anecdote  of,  i.  440,  441 — his  tomb,  ii. 

21,22 
Saaky  Sookhta,  a  small  village,  i.  316 
Saana,  a  village,  i.  259 
Sadawah,  village  of,  i.  273,  282 
Sanctuaries,  assemblage  of,  i.  481 
Sarapis,  island  of,  ii.  435 
Sasoon,  river,  ii.  80 
Sassanian  inscription,  i.  228 

King,  figure  of  a,  i.  473 

remains,  ii.  81 

Sculptures,  in  the  Tauk-e-Bostan,   described,  i.  222— at  Bisitoon, 

254 
Sea-snakes,  varieties  of,  ii.  263 
Selman  Pak,  the  barber,  tomb  of,  ii.  55 
Semiramis,  extraordinary  achievements  of,  i.  247,  255,256 
Serpool,  village  of,  i.  93— its  situation,  95 
Shah-Tuppe,  conjectures  respecting,  i.  56 

Shannon,  an  English  brig,  captured  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  224 
Shapoor,  visit  to  the  ruins  of,  ii.  81 
Sharaban,  account  of  the  village  of,  i.  19— country  in  the  vicinitv 

of,  25  J  y 

Sheah  Sect  of  the  Moslems,  ceremonies  of  the,  i.  65,  66,  344 

Sheeheeheen,  account  of  the,  ii.  355 

Sheik  Abdallah  Ibn  Saood,  a  Wahabee  chief,  ii.  197— decline  of  his 

power,  ii.  201 
Sheik-el- Jebal,  or  Old  Man  of  the  Mountains,  ii.  197 
Sheik  Gathban,  noble  conduct  of,  ii.  195,  196 

Sheik  Twiney,  interesting  story  of,  ii.  195,  196— assassinated,  198 
Shenaz,  fort  of,  taken,  ii.  242, 243 
Sberaroo,  island  of,  ii.  289 


INDEX. 


4i65 


Shiraz,  approach  to,  i.  506-curious  circumstance  that  happened  at, 
ii.  3,  4-mosques  of,  5-Shah  Cheragh,  8-bazaars^  9-Tuk  it-e 
Kudjur,  11-the  Bagh-No,  or  new  garden  13-theBagh-e  Vakeel, 
15-Chehel-ten,  16-Haft-ten,  17-tomb  of  Saadi,  21-of  Hafiz, 
23-of  Shah  Mirza  Hamza,  28-of  Seid  Ala-ul-Din,  31-of  Hadjee 
Seid  Ghareeb,  32-Medress^  Khan,  or  chief  college,  40 -streets  of, 
&c.  41— situation,  42— inhabitants,  ib.-the  Shah  Zade,  43-route 
from  to  Kauzeroon,  46 

Shirine,  romantic  story  of,  i.  69,  7 1 ,  72,  76,  77,  211,  22H,  234 

Shuker  Ullah-Khan,  a  Persian  chief,  i.  451 

Sibylline  verses,  ii.  424,  425 

Sid'odone,  of  Nearchus,  ii.  325,  326 

Silwund,  river,  particulars  respecting,  i.  64 

Siraff,  inquiries  respecting,  ii.  276—278 

Sitakus  of  Arrian,  ii.  257,  269 

Socotra,  taking  of,  ii.  420 

Soofee,  application  of  the  term,  i.  278,  279 

Soonnees,  alluded  tn,  i.  66 

Sphynxes,  representation  of,  ii.  94 

Spring,  oily,  near  Ecbatana,  i.  228 

Springs  of  "fresh  water,  at  Bahrein,  ii.  303,  304 

Stone- doors,  use  of,  i.  331 

Story-teller,  account  of  a,  i.  359— 361 

Strabo,  his  account  of  the  Cossseans,  i.  90 

Stroml)oli^  a  bomb-vessel,  sinks,  ii.  234,  240 

Subbees,  a  sect  of  Christians,  ii.  157— their  religion,  &c.  158,  159, 
160,  161 

Sun,  eclipse  of  the,  ii.  252 

Surdy,  island  of,  ii.  322 

Sylph,  captured  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  229, 230 

Tabreez,  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  Ecbatana,  i.  285,  286 
marble,  i.  390,  393  ;  ii.  8 


Tafreejan,  village  of,  i.  298 

Takht-e- Kudjur,  a  royal  seat,  at  Shiraz,  ii.  11 

Talar  Tuweelah,  palace  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  403 — said  to  have  been  a 
royal  harem,  i.  408 

Tank,  or  Arch,  a  Roman  ruin,  described,  i.  101,  102 

Tauk-e-Bostan,  visit  to  the  ruins  of,  i.  202 

Tavernier's  Travels,  i.  51 

Taylor,  Mrs.  falls  into  the.power  of  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  228,  229 

Tekeea  Mir  Abul  Cassim  Fendereski,  tomb  of,  i.  397,  398 

Tcng-e-Chikoon,  pass  of,  ii.  80 

Teng-e-Rush,  or  the  Black-pass,  i.  122 

Thais,  an  Athenian,  particulars  relative  to,  i-  499,  500 

Tombs,  remarkable,  i.  283 — of  ancient  Persian  kings,  i.  472 — at  Shi- 
raz, ii.  17 

Turkey,  liberty  of  the  women  of,  i.  147 

Turkish  baths,  i.  185, 188,  189 

fleet,  in  the  time  of  Suliman  Pasha  of  Bagdad,  ii.  187 

Turquoise,  or  Firouzi-stone,  described,  ii.  412 

Tylus  of  Arrian,  ii.  320 

VOL.    II.  2    H 


466  INDEX. 

Umm-el-Goorm,  interpretation  of,  ii.  256 

Vigoroux,  Baron,  ii.  164 

Vincent,  Dr.  error  of,  ii.  138 — on  the  etymology  of  Bussorah,  i.  142 

—various   allusions   to,  ii.  254,  275,  276,  277,  281,  326,  434 
Viper,  vessel  of  war,  attacked  by  the  Joassamee  pirates,  ii.  215 
Volney,  M.  singular  custom  noticed  by,  i.  Ill 

Wahabees,  particulars  relative  to  the,  ii.  197 — their  reduced  con- 
dition, 201 
Waneshoon,  town  of,  i.  327 
Water,  scarcity  of,  i.  336,  365 
Wellashgherd,  town  of,  i.  272 
Wild-boar  hunting,  representation  of,  i.  231,  232 
"Winds,  cause  of  the,  ii.  445 
Wrestling  in  Persia,  ii.  38 

Xerxes,  carries  away  the  Boeotians,  i.  109, 113 — anecdote  of,  208 

Yahoudia,  quarter  of,  at  Ispahan,  i.  355 
Yalpan,  village  of,  i.  298,  300 
Yezdikhaust,  account  of  the  town  of,  i.  443 

Zad^,  Shah,  the  King  of  Persia's  son,  i.  108, 172, 177 — his  government, 
181 — palace  of,  182 — his  seraglio,  184 — allusion  to,  319 — account 
of,  ii.  43 

Zagros,  Mount,  i.  103 — several  passes  in,  104 — height  of,  106 

Zeinderood,  river,  i.  365,  385 

Zein-El-Abedeen,  the   Bhang-smoking  Faqueer,  i.  200,  421 

Zerraghoon,  village  of,  i.  506 

Zohaub,  town  of,  i.  83,  84,  85 — character  of  its  inhabitants,  86 

Zoor  Khoneh,  or  House  of  Strength,  ii.  36 

Zoroaster,  i.  279 

Zuwars,  or  Pilgrims,  caravan  of,  i.  309,  333 


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